


Mirrors

by Minty_Pixie



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Henry Lau - Freeform, Humor, Kim Jongdae - Freeform, Kim Junmyeon - Freeform, Kim taeyeon - Freeform, M/M, Non-Con Elements (no rape), Park Chanyeol - Freeform, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Humor, Slow Build, Stalking, alternative universe - youtubers, kim minseok - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 16:16:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 132,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14359068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minty_Pixie/pseuds/Minty_Pixie
Summary: Besides majoring in Composition at K-arts university in Seoul, Kyungsoo is also a famous Youtuber posting song cover videos every week. When his subscribers and those of a certain Kim Kai start a fanwar online, he decides to apologize to the guy on their behalf.From fighting to shipping, there is only a short distance in a fan's heart.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there !! So I'm finally putting that fic on AO3 too, since it has only been on AFF so far. Hope you'll like it !  
> And just as a side note : It IS a KaiSoo fic, but I don't wanna rush things, so be patient~ !

Kyungsoo patiently stares at Baekhyun as he smiles, big blue headphones clad around his head, covering his ears. Then, after another minute, the older finally removes and unplugs them before turning his head toward his best friend, smile even bigger.

"It sounds awesome, as usual !"

"Yeah ? I was wondering if I should add a little more reverb nearing the end, though. You know, when I change the drumming and strumming pattern on the final chorus. But it might sound a little too much."

Baekhyun shakes his head as he carefully places the headphones on the desk, next to the colorful computer's keyboard.

"Nuh uh, it's fine like this. I like how you dropped all the instruments at the end of the bridge and only let the piano and your voice. You went Do, Sol when you sang Hold me now, and then boom epic return of the drum before going to La major. Fucking cool !" he describes, his hands moving as if he was playing piano chords then hitting on an imaginary drum with invisible sticks.

"Yeah, I like that part too !" Kyungsoo nods, plugging the expensive set of speakers into the computer's audio socket.

Baekhyun stretches his back until he can hear his spine pop before reaching out and grabbing his backpack sitting on the floor next to him. He claps his hands and takes out a big black camera, checking if the lens cap is still in place, before looking at Kyungsoo.

"Ready ? What do you wanna start with ?" he asks, getting up.

"Let's go for the guitar first."

"Alrighty !"

Baekhyun starts pushing a few buttons on his camera, and the device comes to life as Kyungsoo removes his jacket and goes sit on the wooden stool next to his electric guitars. He grabs the burgundy Fender Stratocaster and positions himself according to Baekhyun's instructions until the raven-haired boy is satisfied with how the light from the window is falling on Kyungsoo's figure.

"Okay, perfect ! Whenever you're ready !"

Kyungsoo exhales slowly, adjusting his grip on the guitar before finally nodding at his best friend who takes it as his cue to click on the computer's keyboard behind him.  
Music starts and the red recording light on Baekhyun's camera turns on.

  
♪♫

 

Four hours later, Kyungsoo sits between the cushions on his comfy couch and waits for Baekhyun to once again find the right angle.

"Ok, this is nice ! Let's go."

Kyungsoo waits for the little red dot to start glowing and puts on his brightest smile, looking straight at the lens.

"Hey guys ! D.O here ! Thank you so much for watching that video ! I hope you enjoyed the song I chose for Alternative Rock week ! I If you did, please click that thumbs up button and share the video with your friends !" Kyungsoo cheerfully says, both of his thumbs pointing upward. "You'll also find the link in the description below if you wanna buy it on iTunes as well the link to find me on Instagram if you guys are interested about random moments of my random life ! Don't forget to subscribe here if you aren't already and I'll see you next Thursday for Ballad week ! Bye and don't forget to smile !"

He ends with a joyful wave, tilting his head as he keeps smiling before joining his thumb and index finger together and showing the tiny heart to the camera.

Baekhyun cuts the recording and smiles back at him.

"And that's a wrap !

 

Baekhyun just plugged his camera in the younger's computer and started transferring all the recorded files when Kyungsoo takes out his phone and grabs the young man's elbow. The older one straightens up and places his arm around the red-dyed-haired boy, smiling cutely at the front camera while Kyungsoo makes a V sign, holding his two fingers around his eyes before taking the picture.

Two minutes and a Valencia filter later, Kyungsoo uploads the selca on his Instagram account, followed by a little caption.

" _Just finished recording the video for this week's cover with @bunnybyunbaek ! I'll edit everything later today so it'll be ready to post tomorrow evening! Hope you'll like it! #alternativerockweek #imsuperhungrynow #offtoeat_ "

His phone starts showing likes and comments notifications right away, but Kyungsoo locks and pockets it before turning to his best friend.

"How does pizza sounds ?" he asks to the boy, who places his camera back in his bag.

"Like Heaven !"

"Cool, let's go !"

"Oh, by the way, did you read the comments under last week's video lately ?" Baekhyun calls as they exit Kyungsoo's apartment.

"Not since a few days, I've been busy with a paper I needed to write for my Orchestration class. I was planning on reading and answering some tonight. Why ?"

"They went pretty wild, it was hilarious ! They've been talking about that Kim Kai dude-"

"What, again ?" Kyungsoo cuts him, an astonished expression on his face.

"Yep, they were rambling about how he was clearly copying you in his last video. Then some of his subscribers butted in, and they started yelling at each other all in caps lock. I died at some of the comments, really !" snorts the older boy.

"But...isn't he a dancer ? How could he even copy what I do ?"

"From what I understood, the song he danced on was from the same singer you did a cover of. Not the same song though. And he was dancing with a girl, actually."

Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow at a shrugging Baekhyun.

"How does someone even make a choreo on an Ed Sheeran's song ?"

Another shrug.

"I don't know man, but he apparently did. And it unleashed fucking chaos in the comment section of both your videos !"

Kyungsoo shakes his head and sighs as he pushes the door of their favorite pizzeria, waiting for his best friend to go in first.

"I'll tell them to calm down, this is ridiculous." he sighs as they sit at their usual table.

 

A few hours later, while he waits for the final edited video to be exported in the preset folder, Kyungsoo finds himself scrolling through the ocean of comments under said video, eyes wild opened as he reads the bickering between his and Kim Kai's subscribers.

 **VegetablePrincess**  
oppa that kim kai is copying you!!!!!! you r the best tho ily!!!!!!!!!

 **SmartFlower064**  
omggggggg your voice is so perfect AZSDFGHJKLM

 **_Babyxz_Boohoo_**  
**@VegetablePrincess**   Kai is not copying him ! Is he not allowed to dance on songs he likes ?

 **Ilovekimkaaaiiii**  
**@_Babyxz-Boohoo_**    ikr rly this is stupid kai can dance on every song he wants

 **Kai-s-fried-chicken**  
what the song name?

 **D.Ooppaisthebest**  
It's still weird that RIGHT after D.O uploads an Ed Sheeran song's cover, Kim Kai posts a choreo he "created" on an Ed Sheeran's song too. I CALL FISHY !  
  
**shak3y0b00tykai** **  
**@D.Ooppaisthebest****   BITCH WHERE?

 **Yummy-yogourt7** **  
**@D.Ooppaisthebest****    WTF WHY DID YOU PUT QUOTE MARKS AROUNF 3CREATED3 ! KAI OPPPA INVENTS HIS OWN CHOREOGRAPHIESS OKAYYY

 **d.onumber1fan** **  
**@D.Ooppaisthebest****   I AGREE OMG THIS IS REALLY NOT OKAY RIGHT????? KIMKAI NEEDS TO SOTP

 **dancet0them00n**  
Y4ALL NEED TO GO SUCK YOURSELF KAI IS THE BEST§§§§§§§§§ YOUR D.O OPPA ISN4T EVEN TALENTED§§§§§§§

 **bababababanana__365**  
Everyone needs to take a deep breath. Nobody is copying nobody. They just happen to like the same artist, not a big deal. You should be happy that they have common music tastes.

 **putyour_D_inmy_O** **  
**@bababababanana__365****   stfu

 

Kyungsoo stays blinking at his large screen for a few minutes. What the heck did he just read ? Baekhyun was definitely not lying when he said they had gone wild. It goes on and on for pages.  
The young man just sighs and writes a short reply, asking everyone to stop fighting and to support both of them instead, then tagging the most usernames he can remember – actually blushing when he types some of them.

The whole thing doesn't even make sense. That Kim Kai had posted his video the day after Kyungsoo's. How could someone create a choreography, practice it, perfect it, record it and upload it, all in one day ? Kyungsoo was no dancer at all, but he knew it was impossible.  
He rolls his eyes. It isn't even the first time. The same thing happened a few months ago. It was kinda cute to see his subscribers getting all protective and all, but really, the guy probably doesn't even know him. This is completely absurd.

He closes the page and goes back to his video editing program to check if the video is done. He watches it one last time to make sure everything is perfect, chuckling when it nears the end and he sees himself on screen, laughing hysterically right after one of his drumsticks accidentally flew into the air toward the camera – he might have got a little too intensely caught into the beat at that moment. He knows his subscribers are going to love the little bloopers he put at the end of the video. Baekhyun is even doing a mini three seconds cameo, a big close up of his anxious face when he checked the lens hadn't been damaged by the flying item.

Once the video ends, he shuts down his computer and reaches for his backpack. He still needs to study and practice for the Score Reading class he has tomorrow morning. Majoring in Composition was definitely an endless road full of scribbled pitches, rhythms and tempos. But he is enjoying every second of it.

  
♪♫

  
"You're seriously going to France ?"

"Dude, I _so_ am going to France !" Baekhyun replies, nodding vigorously with the biggest smile Kyungsoo has ever seen on his face.

"Who is going to France ?"

Kyungsoo and Baekhyun raise their head to see a girl with long dark minty-green hair sitting at their table.

"Hey noona. Baek is going. He managed to find an internship there for the Cannes Film Festival." Kyungsoo answers before taking a mouthful of rice, watching Heeyeon's eyes widen.

"Wow, seriously ? Awesome ! Try to get some selcas with celebrities !" she cheerfully jokes.

"I'll probably be too busy but hell yeah I'll still try !" laughs the raven-haired boy.

"Did you want something, noona ?" Kyungsoo asks after a little trivial chat, knowing very well Heeyeon wouldn't be here if she didn't.

The girl usually spends her lunch breaks with her boyfriend, he knows it. And seeing the apologetic smile she is sending him, she knows he knows.

"Actually, yes. I was wondering if I could come over to your place this weekend to try something." she starts, and Kyungsoo notices the excitement in her voice. "There's this piece I'm working on that need a little something else, and I thought about adding a mandolin. But the ones the school owns don't have the exact sound I'm looking for. I was thinking maybe you'd be okay to let me use yours ?"

She joins her hand in a prayer pose and looks at him with a lopsided smile and expectant eye. Let's be honest, her cute eager face would've been enough to convince Kyungsoo if he ever had wanted to say no. He laughs gently and nods.

"Sure, no problem. I could actually use your help on a paper I need to write for next week, if that's okay."

Having a friend majoring in the same department and being a year above him can be quite useful sometimes.

They keep discussing the last chapter he studied in his Studio Technique course, food completely forgotten, until Heeyeon's phone blurs out a pop song. A minute later, she is excusing herself to join her boyfriend, promising Kyungsoo to text him so they can agree on what time she will come over on Saturday.

The boys watch her make her way to the cafeteria's glass doors, before Kyungsoo takes another mouthful of rice and turns his head toward his friend who has been playing with his phone all along.

"So... France ?" he smiles

"Oui, la France !!"

"You need to practice your French, though." Kyungsoo chuckles

"I'm working on it."

And the delight in Baekhyun's laughter is enough of a hint to say how happy he is.

 

Saturday rapidly comes and once Heeyeon is happy with her recording and Kyungsoo has gotten her advice on some minor points in his paper, they end up chilling on his couch, chatting while watching an old drama reruns episodes. She manages to have him laughing and sighing at the same time when she mentions the whole Kim-Kai-the-Thief commotion under his video, and she keeps teasing him about his growing popularity on YouTube until Minseok rings at Kyungsoo's intercom right before dinner time, coming to pick up his girlfriend.

Kyungsoo spends his Sunday trying to choose the song he'll cover for his next week's video, sitting behind his synthesizer with his mic and recording a raw version of several songs he likes. He calls Baekhyun to ask for his opinion, and once he has set up his mind on which one he'll do, he fills up new pages on his old Moleskine music notebook to plan everything.  Kyungsoo is still smiling when he falls asleep later that night, excited about his new project.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those interested, this is the song Kyungsoo covered for Alternative Rock week in this chapter :  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti7kuD-YgRA
> 
> Red is one of my favorite non k-pop band. I'm in love with pretty much all of their songs. But this one has a very special meaning to me ^^, so of course it ended up in here. Hoped you liked it if you didn't know it. I SO WANNA HEAR KYUNGSOO SING THIS KIND OF SONG ! I volunteer to play the guitar while he sings xD !!
> 
> You might actually get a little inside look at what I usually listen to outside of k-pop in that fic, through Kyungsoo's covers ans basically every song/artist I'll mention.
> 
> You get a cookie if you leave a comment ! Come and claim it !


	2. Chapter 2

The new fall semester that just started a week ago finds Kyungsoo sitting on his couch, staring at his new baby. He has worked all summer in a little café near the campus to be able to afford his precious toy and looking now at the shiny white surface of his new Fender Jazz Bass, he knows all those night shifts were totally worth it.

He plugs it into his favorite amplifier and tries a simple melody, plucking the chords successively and adjusting the tuning until he is satisfied, then he starts playing a song. He doesn't even reach the middle of it before he is squealing in joy. He loves the way it sounds, lower than the Gibson Ripper he already owns, feeling each note vibrating through his chest.

He stands up and places the instrument on an empty spot against the wall, right where the sunset rays coming through his window hit the soundproof surface, creating a magical atmosphere with all the illuminated specks of dust flying around. He takes several pictures with his phone, trying to find the best angle complimenting the glossy rosewood body of the instrument. On the last one he takes, the sun even sparkles on one of the flatwound strings. Perfect.  
He quickly edits the photo, cropping it square and adding a slight glowing filter to emphasize the warm ambiance before posting it on his Instagram account.  


**melod.ous**  
_Guys! I finally got my new baby!! Isn't she pretty? I can't wait to use it for a cover!! #fenderisbadass #ineedtofindanameforher #givemesomeideas_

  
He presses the share button and then goes to place his bass on the stand he bought at the same time, right next to his drums.

He sends the same picture to his mom – he can even hear her motherly tone when he read her reply " _I'm glad you could buy it, honey ! Dad and I are coming to your school festival in two weeks ! We miss you !_ " – and  spends the next fifteen minutes answering the flowing comments under his new Instagram upload. People are mostly asking him about the instrument's exact references or complimenting him about his videos.

He laughs when he reads a comment from a girl jokingly asking him for Baekhyun's phone number, and he answers it right away, tagging both the girl and his friend.

  
**melod.ous**  
_What do you thing @bunnybyunbaek ? Should I give your number to @little_bird_fairy ?_

  
Baekhyun is going to kill him.

Comments and new followers notifications keep coming, and he scrolls through them for a few more minutes before his intercom is ringing, announcing the arrival of his friends for their usual beer and fried chicken Friday night.

When he opens his door a moment later, as he predicted, Baekhyun is wiggling his phone – Instagram page glowing on the screen – in front of Kyungsoo's face, a menacing look on his face.

"Don't you fucking dare !" he says as a greeting.

Kyungsoo laughs and steps back to let his friends come in.

"Taeyeon noona is gonna rip off Baek's limbs if she sees that," Chanyeol chuckles as the five of them settle down on the couch and bean bags, putting food and drinks on the coffee table.

"With her teeth !" Henry adds, and Baekhyun let out a desperate groan as all the others laugh loudly.

"Remember last time ?" Junmyeon butts in, just for the pleasure of seeing Baekhyun's face contorts itself in terror. "When that girl commented on your video, saying Baekhyun was ' _oh so sexy in that plaid shirt and snapback_ ' ?" he snorts, moving his fingers to trace invisible quote marks in the air.

Baekhyun slams his forehead against the coffee table with a fake sob.

"I legit thought she was gonna extract my eyeballs with the teaspoon she was holding," he grumbles before sitting straight. "Seriously, I feared for my life, that day."

"Noona can be quite scary when she's upset," Kyungsoo states and everyone nods and hums in agreement.

They dig into the fried chicken boxes, uncapping beer bottles and chatting about trivial subjects, laughing a lot and teasing each other. At some point, Chanyeol stands after wiping his hands on a tissue paper and makes his way to Kyungsoo's bookshelf, which is filled with vinyl records sorted by years and artists. He rapidly picks one from the 70s shelf, showing it to the others and receiving thumbs up from everyone, before delicately putting it on the vintage-looking turntable, using the heels of his palms to avoid getting greasy stains on the record's sensitive surface. As soon as Down to the Waterline's first notes echo in the room with that typical Dire Straits guitar sound the band set up since their very first album, he goes back to sit in the huge grey bean bag he claimed earlier as his spot for the night.

Four packs of beers, two entire fried chickens, a Dire Straits and a Pink Floyd albums later, they find themselves in Kyungsoo's music room – the " _treasure cave-but-not-really-a-cave-cause-that-would-make-Kyungsoo-a-caveman-except-he-is-too-handsome-to-be-one_ ," as drunk-Chanyeol calls it – trying to play Dire Straits' Sultans of Swing. In their drunken state, they all agree on going for the version the band did during the Alchemy Live concert, even if they know their hands probably won't cooperate.

Baekhyun settles behind the synthesizer while Chanyeol sits on the drum's stool and Junmyeon adjusts the height of one of Kyungsoo's mic. Henry naturally grabs the bass the moment Kyungsoo slides his electric guitar's strap around his neck. In the middle of the first guitar solo, Kyungsoo's fingers mess up a few notes, and all of them end up laughing so hard, with tears in their eyes seeing the red-haired pretend to gag in reaction to his misstep. In the middle of the second guitar solo, Junmyeon runs to grab an electric guitar and plugs it into a third amp and stands next to Henry, ready to play the rhythmic guitar part.  The next calm part passes without any problem, until Mark Knopfler's last epic solo is about to start and Baekhyun screams to cover the sound of all the instruments.

"HERE COMES TROUBLE !" he shouts, eyeing Kyungsoo who sports an over-serious – as much as he can in his tipsy state – look on his face, his tongue sticking out of his mouth and eyes focused on his guitar's neck as the solo begins.

As he goes, Junmyeon, who doesn't have to sing anymore, gets himself into a really awkward dance, swinging his guitar and making Henry laughing hysterically.  
Kyungsoo manages to end the first part of the solo without too many difficulties, and the song calms down a bit. Baekhyun synthesizer takes over for a little while, then the solo's second part begins.

As it gets more and more intense, Chanyeol starts shouting unintelligible stuff, hitting his drumsticks on the shells like a madman, while Henry and Junmyeon begin to jump, still playing, laughing and howling encouragements at Kyungsoo who wears a Cheshire's cat grin on his face as his fingers dance on the strings. Even Baekhyun has stood up and kicked the stool he was sitting on to be able to hop as he plays.

They are all yelling and cheering each other, bouncing around, insane smiles stretching their sweaty faces. Baekhyun's fingers slide on the black and white keys, his eyes closed. Junmyeon and Henry are shaking their heads up and down in rhythm and swinging their hips in sync. Even Chanyeol is twirling one of his stick in his fingers, as if he was doing a stage performance and wanted to impress the public. Kyungsoo is enjoying every second of what is happening. As his fingertips move swiftly on his guitar, he looks up at his friends. Seeing them jamming hard, beaming as if they were having the time of their lives, jumping, shouting and sweating, Kyungsoo wishes this moment could last forever.

When the song finally comes to an end, dragging the last notes for a suspensefully long time before concluding it in perfect synchronization, the five of them holler louder than ever, high fiving and hugging then fall on top of each other on the couch, trying to catch their breath.

They make their way back to the living room a while later, and Baekhyun opens a fifth pack of beer as Chanyeol helps Kyungsoo carrying big bowls of chips and honey roasted peanuts from the kitchen to the living room, while the two others are trying to decide what record they'll listen to.

When everyone is comfortably settled down, and a Genesis album is playing in the background, Baekhyun, still in hyped up mode, starts telling them about his internship in France. Again. Since he came back two months ago, and every time he drinks, the boy can't help but bring it up in the conversation. His friends all know the whole story in details, since they basically heard about it at least once a week during the last two months, but the smile on the raven-haired boy's face is so bright that, even if they are not sure if his eyes are sparkling from happiness or because of the alcohol, they let it slide and pretend it's the first time he is talking about it.

When he finally runs out of things to say, his mouth is dry, so he grabs a beer and busies himself figuring out how to open it. And apparently, his teeth suddenly seem to be his best option. He is twisting the bottleneck in his mouth trying to find the best angle when Henry snorts, chocking as he swallows his gulp of beer.

"Dude, I didn't know you liked putting long stuff in your mouth !" the oldest laughs, wiping his wet chin with his sleeve.

Baekhyun looks up and smirks at him, wiggling his eyebrows, before smoothly sliding his bean bag on the side to get nearer to Henry.

"Wanna see how much I like it ?" he whispers in an overly seductive tone, winking exaggeratedly as the others howl.

"Thanks, but no thanks ! I don't swing that way, sorry dude," Henry answers in a fake apologetic voice. "Ask Kyungsoo instead."

Baekhyun only has time to turn his head toward his best friend before the latter is replying.

"Nope, I'm good. I have standards, you know."

"Wow. You're such a meanie. But okay, your loss !" Baekhyun says with a sassy look on his face.

"I'm sure Taeyeon noona would be pleased to hear that conversation," Chanyeol whispers in Junmyeon's ear, even if he's speaking loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Speaking about lovers," Junmyeon casually transitions, "When are you gonna settle down with a cute guy, Kyungsoo ? You've been single for a while now," he adds, tilting his head and focusing on his friend.

"When would I even find time to meet someone, Hyung ?" Kyungsoo chuckles, shaking his head. "You guys keep me busy when I'm not in class or working on my videos here."

"Oh, by the way, about your videos, did you-" Chanyeol starts, but he gets cut off by Henry.

"Wait...do you think Kyungsoo tops or does he bottoms ?" the oldest randomly blurs out.

Kyungsoo is happy to be sitting on the ground at this second. He can't fall any lower, no matter how startled he is.

"He bottoms, clearly," Chanyeol states, forgetting what he was about to say before.

"Nuh uh, he definitely tops," Baekhyun counters confidently with a nod.

"I think he's a switcher," Junmyeon says as if it was obvious and silence sets in the living room as Kyungsoo facepalms.

His friends are so embarrassing, discussing this kind of things when he is right there in front of them. He is used to it, but it doesn't keep him from wanting to smack them sometimes.

"A switcher... Hyung, can I bought the copyright of that word from you ?" Baekhyun asks suddenly.

"What ?"

"I could totally use it in my scenario for my Screenplay Writing class project..." the raven-haired boy explains, getting excited on his own as the four others blankly stare at him.

"Wait a minute... You plan on writing a gay porn script for your final graduating project ?" Chanyeol finally says.

"What ? No, don't be stupid ! But I can use it in some sort of sci-fi or fantasy type of thing. I dunno, Switchers sounds like a cool name for people who can, like, transform into...something..." Baekhyun pauses as he squints, thinking, before he shrugs. "I don't know yet, it's just a raw idea ?"

"It sounds cool, actually," Kyungsoo agrees with a smile.

He has always liked how Baekhyun could imagine a whole new world based on pretty much nothing. Give him a few days, and he will have a solid plan for this project. That is, if he remembers it tomorrow morning.

"You should write it down, Baekhyun," Junmyeon advises, obviously having the same thoughts trail.

The raven-haired nods vigorously and unlocks his phone to type everything in the notes app.

An hour later, as the mural clock displays 3am, they all decide to call it a night. They end up in Kyungsoo's bedroom, Baekhyun sharing the bed with its owner while the three others settle down on thin mats on the floor. They're all on the verge of falling asleep when Chanyeol suddenly shouts, starling his friends. He apologizes before carrying on.

"I wanted to ask something earlier, but I forgot when Hyung opened the debate about Kyungsoo," he chuckles. "Anyway, Kyung, did you read the comments under the video you uploaded yesterday ?"

"I didn't check them today. Why ?"

"Well, Kai uploaded his video this afternoon and...he is dancing on the same song you covered this week. Again."

Junmyeon laughs from somewhere in the room.

"Oh my god," Baekhyun snorts next to Kyungsoo, "Let me guess, Kyungsoo's and Kai subscribers went fucking wild again, didn't they ?"

"Well, let's just say that less than an hour after he posted it, insults were overflowing like your mama's placenta when she gave birth to you !"

Junmyeon, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo shout disgusted ' _Ew’_ s' as Henry bursts out laughing.

"Dude ! Gross !"

"It's true, though. Kyung's subscribers are like a massive defensive army," Chanyeol claims, "They were trying to make the hashtag _#ProtectDyo2k16_ trend on Twitter," he chuckles.

Kyungsoo just sights, staring at his ceiling even if he can't see it in the dark room.

"I guess that's what comes as a package deal when you reach 100k subscribers," Junmyeon wisely declares, "It was bound to happen at some point. If it weren't Kim Kai, it would've been someone else. People always find something bad to say, no matter what. The Internet just makes it easier."

"That was deep, Hyung..." Chanyeol says in fake awe.

"That's what she said."

Baekhyun's joke has them all chortling, before Kyungsoo sighs again.

"I feel bad for the guy, though. It's not his fault. It's a new song, a really good RnB one," he explains, "Of course he would dance on it, and it just happened to be my RnB week, and I liked the song... I mean... He definitely doesn't deserve people bashing him when he didn't do anything wrong," Kyungsoo ends in an irritated voice.

"Wow, so defensive..."

"It's just that...it's just a big coincidence, and everyone is clawing at his neck for something he didn't do. I don't think it's fair."

Kyungsoo's friend all hums in agreement before he continues.

"I didn't want to have to, but if they don't stop, I'll have to actually make a video to call for a cease-fire. Maybe that'll calm them down a bit," he sighs. "I should probably send him a message and apologize too..."

Silence smoothly drapes itself in the room after his words and the five young men slowly fall into a deep slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few songs were mentioned here ! Down to the Waterline, first song of Dire Strait very first album :  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d2klwbnJMQ
> 
> And then, Sultan of Swings, I'm pretty sure everybody knows this song but, it is VERY special to me. My dad literally raised me listening to that song, and we still air-guitar on it together every time we play it during car trips. And the version Dire Strait played during the Alchemy concert is just pure eargasm, so give it a try :  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pa9x9fZBtY
> 
> I mentioned Genesis and the Pink Floyd too, whatever song from both, you can't go wrong :P.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning...there will be a lot (like...a LOT) of BaekSoo's friendship in that fic, so...yeah, be aware xD.

Kyungsoo's weekend passes in a rush, busy as he is preparing for the original piece he will present on stage at the end of the following week, and as almost every Sunday night, he ends up on the phone with Baekhyun, asking for his opinion on the song he plans on choosing for his next cover video. His best friend is always here to hear him ramble about how he likes those two songs but " _this one could be cool if I try to do a nice dubstep-ish remix of it and the other one could be really nice if I do some beatboxing, and I could ask Amber to do the rap part since we've been wanting to collab for a while, so I don't know which one to choose_ ". Just as much as he is always there when Baekhyun is having an existential crisis, be it about how Taeyeon is driving him crazy but he still loves her so much, or how his final graduating project is stressing him to death, or even just when " _man, my eyeliner pen fucking dried up again, I need a new one…like a good brand this time so it will last me more than two months._ ".

Baekhyun is in the middle of telling him why he should choose the second song between the two Kyungsoo likes when the line suddenly falls silent.  
Kyungsoo frowns and throws a quick glance at his phone to check if the call was cut off, but his best friend's name is still glowing on the screen. He brings it back to his ear before calling the young man's name in a hesitant voice.

"Baek ? You still there ?"

He thinks he vaguely hears a series of faint clicks before the older boy finally answers.

"Sorry, I was..." More clicks, and then, "Holy shit...okay you need to see this."

"See what ?"

"Log in on Youtube and go on your last video. And then just look at the top comment," he orders.

Kyungsoo raises his eyebrows, confused, but does as he is told.

"Why ? What happened ?" he asks as he enters his password with his left hand, the right one still holding his phone.

"Just read it."

When he finally ends up reading said comment, his eyes are open wide, his mouth agape as he stays completely still, looking at the words displayed on his computer's screen.  
Now he understands why Baekhyun suddenly went silent.  
The boy on the other side of the line has apparently predicted Kyungsoo's reaction, because he doesn't wait for his friend to speak.

"I know, right ? This comment is fucking savage. Did you see the answers it got ?"

A few clicks later, Kyungsoo's eyes are about to fall of their sockets.

"Oh my god…" he whispers slowly.

He usually has no problem swearing but this, he would be ashamed to even think of reading those offensive words out loud. Even Baekhyun who swears like he breathes has clearly been shocked enough to be left speechless for a few seconds.

"Oh shit…wait…"

"What ?" Kyungsoo asks, now a little worried his friend is gonna announce him something even worse than what he just read about Kai.

"Wow... Man, go check the comments under _his_ last video."

A few clicks later, Kyungsoo pauses the video right away so it won't start playing since his speakers are set on killing-your-eardrums mode and scrolls down a bit. Obviously, he was right to think it could get worse. The red-haired boy doesn't even finish reading the long series of insulting comments answering an already really aggressive one.

"You shouldn't listen to them, you know that, right ? You're very talented, don't be bothered by what they're saying about you. They don't even know you anyway." Baekhyun says confidently.

"I'm not hurt by what they wrote about me, Baek."

His best friend instantly understands what he is implying.

"Those were sent in the last hour, so he might have not seen them yet..." Baekhyun tries in a vain attempt to comfort Kyungsoo.

"This is so not okay," Kyungsoo sighs, "How can they be so rude and say all this about him. He fucking didn't do anything wrong !"

"People talk shit all the time. Sucks when you're the one receiving all the hate."

"Yeah... I guess they think they're safe behind their computer's screen, allowed to say anything. They probably don't get how much words can hurt."

"Now I feel bad for the few times I actually posted mean comments when I was still a dumb teenager," Baekhyun chuckles joylessly.

Kyungsoo hums in agreement. He did the same, back when he was in middle school. And being on the other end now, he regrets it. Even more than he regretted dying his hair blond three years ago – and he cried over his fried bleached hair a _lot_.

"You might wanna go on about that idea of a video calling for a cease-fire you had the other night. Maybe it'd help a little ?" Baekhyun hesitates, "Or maybe not. It could backfire at you, actually."

"Would you help me record it ?" Kyungsoo sighs again.

"Of course, just text me when you have free time this week," Baekhyun agrees right away, "Maybe it wasn't a bad idea you had to message him too ?"

"Yeah, I'm actually trying to find his Instagram account right now. If he read the YouTube comments, he probably won't look at his channel inbox, since he definitely received shitty stuff in there too."

"I think it's just Kim Kai, without space and with a bunch of A's. I think the link is in his Youtube bio or something ?" his best friends answers.

"Found it. Seven A's, why the fuck did he need so many ?" Kyungsoo asks nobody in particular. "Anyway, any idea of what I should say ?"

"Uhm...what about ' _sorry my subscribers are a bunch of immature psycho fangirls throwing fucking acidic poison at you and waiting for you to melt in front of their eyes_ ' ?" the raven-haired boy suggests.

The fact that Kyungsoo is actually taking a few seconds and considering writing that says a lot about how irritated he is by said fangirls.

"Oops, Taeyeon's here, man," Baekhyun says suddenly, "Gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow ?"

"Yeah. Say hi to noona for me," Kyungsoo smiles.

"She says hi back."

"Enjoy your date !"

"Hehe, I will, trust me ! See ya !"

The call ends, and Kyungsoo doesn't wait to open Instagram on his phone and search up Kai's account.

He never really watched any of the guy's video and the snippets he might have seen were large shots where his face wasn't really visible. So Kyungsoo has no idea what he will find when he clicks on Kai's username. What he didn't expect, though, was the tons of adorable selcas displaying a cute looking hazel-haired boy, probably around his age, making goofy faces and cheeky smiles. He clicks on a few ones, being extra careful to not double tap any picture cause really, wouldn't it be awkward to like his selcas right when he is about to send him an apologetic message ?

He watches some of the short videos Kai uploaded, mostly of him practicing his choreos, sometimes with other people but mostly on his own. One of the most recent videos is showing the young man talking to his phone's camera, asking his followers how they are and telling them he hopes they had a great summer. His low voice and sweet chuckles leave Kyungsoo blinking at his screen, eyebrows slightly raised. At first sight, Kai is all eye-smile and fluffy attitude, and it doesn't match with his bio where he wrote "Life motto : I'd rather bend than break." That sound so serious and fierce compared to the toothy grins he gives to the camera. There are even close-ups of plates full of fried chicken here and there. That would explain the "Dance and fried chicken" sentence on his bio – it is even followed by the chicken wing emoji, the guy must _really_ like chicken.

But Kyungsoo knows better than judging people based on their appearance. He does have a devilish best friend hiding in the body of an angel-looking guy. He knows there is always more than meet the eye. So he reserves his opinion for later, when the young man will answer to the message he is about to send. If he does, that is.

Kyungsoo clicks on the little dots near Kai's username and chooses the option Send a message. After looking at the blank screen for a good five minutes, he sighs. Maybe he should have thought about it earlier. He thinks about what Baekhyun suggested, but rejects the idea right away. " _Don't think about it too much_ ," that's probably what his best friend would say right now, " _Just write whatever comes naturally to your mind_ ," and Kyungsoo can almost hear the raven-haired boy's voice in his head. He sighs once again and begins typing. His thumbs work quickly, writing, then erasing, then rewriting a few times before he puts a final dot. He re-reads the whole thing, just to make sure there isn't any weird typo, then he nods, satisfied, before pressing the Send button.

 **melod.ous**  
_Hey, I'm sorry for sending this message out of the blue, but really, I think it was important for me to do so. You probably have no idea of who the heck I am so...well basically, according to both our Youtube subscribers, I'm your nemesis ? Or something like that, I guess. I'm D.O, you might have picked up my name a few times when you read the comments on your videos. And that is basically why I'm sending you this freakingly awkward message. It seems like people have decided we were some sort of mortal enemies fighting over...who the hell knows what, actually. The right of being the only one to like an artist or a song, maybe, if we listen to what they all say. I don't even know what they are thinking when they write such things. And that's why I wanted to apologize on their behalf, for being so rude and offensive to you when really, you did absolutely nothing wrong. Well, even if you had done something wrong (not that you did, you really didn't !), their reaction still wouldn't be acceptable. So yeah, basically, I'm sorry that we both ended up in this situation and I wanted you to know that I have absolutely nothing against you whatsoever. Please, don't listen to what they say. I plan on saying a few words at the beginning of my video this week to try and calm them down as much as I can. This really can't go on like that. Also, sorry for this ass-long message that literally looks more like a mini-novel by now. Hope you had a nice weekend ! Bye !_

 

Kyungsoo spends a few more minutes scrolling down on the pictures Kai posted, chuckling when he sees a few where the boy is holding a really curly brown poodle, smiling cutely at the camera while the dog is either licking his chin or trying to escape his arms. He totally agrees with the comments stating how precious the hazel-haired boy looks in those pictures.  
He ends up exiting the app and locking his phone before standing up to go prepare himself some dinner. He probably won't have an immediate answer – again, if he ever gets one.

The week starts, and as the days go by and Kai still hasn't sent anything back, Kyungsoo begins to question every single sentence he has written in that message. Was it too long ? Was he too harsh when he talked about his subscribers ? To some extends, he was also referring to Kai's subscribers. Maybe the guy didn't like him attacking his fans ? Was he too serious ? Or joking too much ?

God, that's why he is so uncomfortable speaking to people online. Face to face conversations are so much easier !

By Wednesday morning, and even though he should be focusing a little more on working on his recital's piece, Kyungsoo has become paranoid with it. Did Kai go on his account and saw ridiculous pictures ? Did he decide Kyungsoo might be as stupid as the pictures he has uploaded and thought he wasn't worth an answer ? Does he agree with his subscribers about Kyungsoo's total lack of talent ?

He comes home with Baekhyun and Amber, and they start recording the video of their collab right away. His best friend is, as always, behind the camera while Amber and he act through the song's audio they recorded the day before. Once they're done, Kyungsoo takes a picture of the two of them, Baekhyun photobombing on the background with a stupid hands-as-bunny-ears pose, before the girl leaves them after a hug.

Kyungsoo sighs and heavily sits on his couch, watching the raven-haired boy set up his camera in front of him. He is supposed to record a little message for his and Kai's subscribers, asking them to stop the hate-throwing thing going on, but he has no idea how to put it. He thought about it a lot during the last two days – when he wasn't wondering about Kai's lack of answer – but he still hasn't figured out what he should actually tell them. He sighs once again and nods to Baekhyun, so the boy would press the record button.  
He ends up having to do several takes before he's finally happy and while Baekhyun is sending the video files from his camera to Kyungsoo's computer, the red-haired boy opens his Instagram account and upload the picture he took earlier after a little editing.

 **melod.ous**  
Collab with my favorite girl @live_the_llama_life for this week's cover ! Blurryfaces right after filming the video ! #isuckatmakingpun #didyouevengetthehint #itstressesmeout #okenoughtwiththehintpun Also, bonus : @bunnybyunbaek illustrating his username  
 

He smiles a little when he sees the comments being sent right away. His followers are clearly better than him when it comes to puns.

Once Baekhyun has left, Kyungsoo starts editing the video, watching over and over footages of Amber rapping the verses and him singing the choruses and beatboxing, trying to cut everything in a nice way that flows with the song's tempo, timing it carefully with the audio file. He inserts the little cease-fire message at the beginning of the video, and the one thanking his subscribers at the end, followed by a few bloopers shots of Amber trying to do a handstand in the middle of the room – for some unknown reason –, and Kyungsoo panicking – for an obvious reason – when she ends up almost falling on his precious instruments while Baekhyun's cute laugh echoes loudly in the background. He watches the whole video one last time to check if everything is alright and finally presses the rendering icon.

He fixes himself a quick dinner, eating while going over a few issues on the song he will be presenting on stage, then goes right to bed after brushing his teeth, not even checking is Kai replied. He probably didn't anyway.

  
♪♫

  
It's past 8pm on the next day when Kyungsoo rubs his eyes, seated at one of the school's library's table, his laptop open in front of him as he types the final point of his deadly long essay for his Music and Visual Image class. He saves it and reduces Microsoft Office window to check how the uploading of his video is going. He sighs when he sees the loading bar only half full. The university library's wifi is literally one of the crappiest ever, but he needed books references for his essay, and he didn't want to wait until he got home to upload his cover. Said pile of books suddenly shakes when a figure swiftly sits on the chair next to him, knocking the table's leg in the process.

"Kyungsooooo !"

The red-haired lifts an eyebrow and looks at his best friend. That cheerful tone surely doesn't augur anything good for him.

"My best friend Kyungsoo ! How long have we known each other ?" Baekhyun says with a huge toothy smile, tilting his head cutely.

"Long enough for me to know I'm not gonna like this conversation," Kyungsoo snorts.

Baekhyun's smile falters a bit as his hands fold themselves in front of him.

"But we've been best friends for a long time now, right ? So, I was wondering if...maybe you could do your awesome bestest best friend in the whole world a favor ?"

That last word has everything clicking in Kyungsoo's head, and he looks back at his laptop's screen – seems like that damn loading bar didn't even move.

"Nope. Don't even think about it."

"But why ?" Baekhyun whines, not even wondering if Kyungsoo actually knows what he was about to ask or how he even knew.

"Your cat hates me," Kyungsoo deadpans.

"Livia only hates you ‘cause you hate her !"

"She almost killed my brand-new guitar the day after I got it !"

"She just rubbed her face on it, Kyungsoo..."

"And it nearly fell over !"

"On the _carpet_..."

"Do you have any idea how much it cost ? I had to sell my right lung on the human organs black market to afford it !"

"Don't be stupid. You wouldn't have enough breath to be that sassy with only one lung left."

"Whatever. I'm not pet-sitting your furry monster," Kyungsoo ends in an assertive tone.

"Fine. I don't want my baby girl to be around such a meanie anyway."

Kyungsoo watches Baekhyun stand up and disappear in the front desk direction. He looks back at his laptop, only to see his uploading went from 52% to 56% during his little talk with Baekhyun and he loudly bangs his head against the table in defeat.

"Worst. Wifi. Ever," he mumbles, hitting his forehead against the wooden surface with each word.

It only takes a minute before he hears footsteps coming near him and a finger poking his right shoulder.

"Pretty please ? With whipped cream and a cherry on top. No wait, you don't like cherries. A strawberry. Whipped cream and a juicy strawberry on top !"

New defeated sigh.

"I swear if she claws at anything in my apartment, I'm cooking her for dinner," Kyungsoo finally agrees, straightening his back to look at his best friend who sheepishly eyes him back, nodding.

"She won't, I promise ! I trained her !"

"Yeah right, I think your parents’ couch would disagree on that," Kyungsoo chuckles.

Baekhyun offers him an apologetic smile that suddenly turns into a thinking frown.

"Wait...how did you even know I was going to ask you to keep Livia for a while ?"

"I talked to Chanyeol this morning. He told me you asked him, Junmyeon, Henry, Minseok and even Heeyeon noona..."

"Oh..."

"I literally was your last choice, wasn't I ?"

"Not exactly..." Kyungsoo crooks an eyebrow at him, "Okay you kinda were. But only because I was keeping the best for last ? You're like, the one who will never ever let me down ! My best friend ever !" Baekhyun over-enthusiastically cheers, ending his statement with jazzy hands and a big gummy smile.

"Alright, chill your tits. I won't eat her," Kyungsoo laughs.

"I promise it won't be for more than a week. I know you need to work on your piece, she won't be bothering you !" the raven-haired boy assures.

"It's okay, I'll have someone to yell on to release my frustration... I'm kidding," he adds when he sees the way Baekhyun glares at him.

"You better be. I'll bring her to your apartment tomorrow night with all her things. Is that okay ?"

"Yeah, sure. Sorry I had to cancel our beer and chicken night with the guys, by the way," Kyungsoo sighs, frowning.

"Don't worry, Yeol and Henry hyung wouldn't have been able to come anyway. They're even less ready for the festival than you are ! And you are _so not_ ready !"

Somehow, Baekhyun always manages to cheer him up.  Even by being rude.

The raven-haired boy finally leaves, and as Kyungsoo sees the loading bar only sporting a depressing 63%, he bangs his forehead one more time on the table before straightening up and opening his digital audio workstation software. He can't stop the uploading now, and it will definitely take a while before it ends. He guesses he'll have time to work a little on the piece he'll be presenting on stage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Don't say I didn't warn you about the whole BaekSoo thing.
> 
> Not so many song reference in here. Just one, I'm sure you all know. Stressed Out, by Twenty One Pilots. I freaking love that song and I thought a little Kyungsoo and Amber collab would be perfect for it. Also, the videos of Kyungsoo beatboxing are LIFE.
> 
> Whoever comments gets a chocolate chips cookie :) !


	4. Chapter 4

After an awfully stressful week, Kyungsoo finally gives the audience a ninety-degrees bow, smiling widely and repeating thank you's in the mic as they cheer and clap their hands at the end of his performance.  He gives a little wave at his parents that he spotted earlier in the third row before bowing one last time and returning backstage, as his professor introduces the next student.

When he reaches the room his class has been attributed to get ready in, he high-fives a few he is close with, getting praises for his hard work. He returns the compliments before gathering his things, packing everything neatly in his backpack and going straight to the big waiting room where he'll be able to watch the end of the show on the huge tv screen hung up high on the wall. He spots Heeyeon on the far left of the room and goes to sit next to her. The girl is nervously tapping her foot on the ground, eyes fixed on the screen as she waits for her turn to go up on stage.

"You're going to be amazing, stop worrying noona," Kyungsoo tries in a reassuring voice.

Seeing how she jumps on her chair, she was probably too focused to hear him coming.

"I heard your piece, it's really great. So stop. Being. So. Nervous," he adds, accentuating his words by pushing the tip of his index finger on her knee so she'll stop bouncing it up and down at an increasing speed.

Heeyeon nervously chuckles and swaps his hand.

"My dad's sitting on the seventh row..." is the only reply she offers, shrugging as she hesitantly smiles at him before returning her eyes on the screen.

He sighs and takes her hand in his, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb without a word as he turns to watch his classmate bow in the tv, wrapping up the third-year Composition majors' performances.  
He knows how disapproving Heeyeon's dad is about the studies his daughter chose to pursue. Being an only child, and after her mother died when she was still a baby, the man always had very high expectations that never failed to weigh heavily on her shoulders. He had always wanted her to take over his company and expected her to major in marketing in a well-known business school. When she decided to apply at the Korea National University of Arts, majoring in Composition against his opinion, all his hopes had been crushed. It certainly didn't help when she started dating Minseok, who majored in Playwriting and was, in her father's own words, "a careless dreamer."

That's why Kyungsoo understands Heeyeon's nervousness. Her dad being here – who knows how she actually managed to convince him to come – means an even heavier amount of pressure. He knows the man will have skeptical eyes fixed on his daughter during the entire three minutes she will be on stage.  
So he just stays here and keeps brushing his finger against the back of her hand while they watch what is happening inside the screen.

He hugs her and whispers a soft " _good luck_ " half an hour later when she stands and leaves the waiting room. And he still stays on his chair during all the 4th year composition-majors' performances. He vaguely hears his phone buzzing in his backpack and starts reaching for it when he hears his professor introducing Heeyeon. So he quickly adverts his attention back on the tv screen, silently cheering for the girl.

  
♪♫

 

When the three hours long show finally ends, Kyungsoo grabs his backpack and exits the backstage waiting room with a spring in his steps. He is supposed to meet his parents at the concert hall's front gates to go and grab dinner with them. He hasn't seen them in months, and he is quite excited to be able to spend the night hearing his dad's jokes while being pampered by his mom – in a very manly-come-on-he-is-21 kind of way, of course.

Once he arrives at the front doors, he searches around, trying to locate one of his parents but fails and quickly guesses they are probably still trying to exit the crowded concert hall.  
He leans against the wall, making sure he is in a spot where they'll be able to find him easily once they'll be out then opens his bag to grab his phone, remembering the device had buzzed a few times during Heeyeon's performance and after. His search-party inside his things is however interrupted by an enthusiastic female voice.

"Kyungsoo oppa ! You were so cool on stage ! Your piece was really amazing !"

He lifts his head to find a girl slightly shorter smiling brightly at him.

"Oh...well thank you...uhm..." he hesitates, amiably smiling while subtly looking at her face to try and remember if he actually knows her.

The girl seems to understand and chuckles.

"Junghwa. Park Junghwa. I'm a dance-major freshman at K-arts," she introduces herself in a cute tone.

Kyungsoo nods and smiles a little more freely, relieved that he didn't forget someone who seems to know him.

"Nice to meet you, Junghwa-ssi," he greets her, before noticing the sparkly top poking out of her duffel bag, matching her glittery makeup, "I'm sorry, I think I was still getting ready when the first years were on stage, so I didn't see you perform. I hope it went well," he politely says to excuse the fact that he didn't recognize her.

Another giggle.

"It's okay, Oppa. It went very well !" she answers with a gummy smile. "But really, I mean it ! You looked so cool on stage. I've been following you on YouTube for months and I really really love your covers ! I hope you don't listen to whatever all those haters are saying because you are truly talented ! I mean you're always doing awesome things, but what you presented tonight was seriously the best ! I love your voice, and it sounded amazing on stage ! I'm so happy I could finally hear it live ! My friends are gonna be so jealous !

Kyungsoo rapidly blinks at her, trying to follow the hurried flow of words coming out of her mouth. From what he got, she apparently is one of his subscribers, so he decides to focus on that and to reply as he would usually do. He got used to the school's students randomly coming to talk to him and telling him they're following him on social medias.

He offers her another polite smile that has her blushing before he answers gently.

"Wow, thank you so much ! I'm happy you liked it, I worked on this piece really hard."

"Yes, I definitely can tell you did !" she nods excitingly before suddenly growing shy, and looking at him through her long eyelashes. "Oppa...can I take a picture with you ?"

"Uhm..."

"I won't post it online if you don't want me to ! I just want it for me, just so I can look at it sometimes ?" she hurriedly says, her eyes wide open as if she was afraid he was about to refuse.

But Kyungsoo is used to that kind of question too, and if he has to be completely honest, he doesn't dislike it. So once again, he smiles at her and nods.

"Sure. And it's okay, you can post it if you want, I don't mind," he ends in an eyesmile.

Junghwa's happy squeal is enough to confirm he took the right decision. She shuffles on his right as she takes out her phone and he delicately circles her shoulders with his arm, tilting his head towards hers and copying the V shape she puts her fingers in when she points the camera at them and takes the picture. 

"You're such a fangirl, Junghwa !"

Kyungsoo's eyes instantly find the short-haired girl who just spoke while walking to reach them. She greets him, and he thanks his brain for remembering her name when he says hi back. Well, he should actually thank the dance-majors professor who introduced the third-year students earlier when they went on stage, because even if he can vaguely recall meeting her before, he probably wouldn't have been able to find her name in his memories.

"You literally printed and taped the picture you took with him on your bedroom wall, Unnie..." Junghwa sassily counters, pocketing her phone.

Hyelin's eyes comically open and she grabs Junghwa's arms and starts walking away.

"Shut up !' she hisses then she waves her hand at him, still walking, "Sorry, we have to go, bye Kyungsoo !" she adds, and he can faintly hear the younger protest before their voices get mixed in the surrounding crowd's chatting noises.

"What a heartbreaker you are, Kyung'..."

His dad's voice makes him jolt, and a huge smile stretches his lips as the old man's arms circle his shoulders to hug him. He then lets himself be wrapped in his mom's suffocating embrace, happy to see them after the long months being away from home.

"Seungsoo asked me to tell you he's really sorry not to be here. It's a little hectic at work these days apparently" his dad says as they walk towards the school's parking lot.

"Yeah, I know, he texted me two days ago to wish me luck and tell me he wouldn't be able to come," Kyungsoo nods, "It's okay, I understand. His boss is an old bitch." he ends, making a funny face that has his father laughing loudly and her mother hiding a chuckle with a " _Language, young man._ ".

He gives her a back hug and pecks her cheek as an apology just as they reach his dad's grey car, and he hops in the backseat, happy at the idea of spending an entire evening with two of the most important persons in his life.

  
♪♫

  
It's almost one in the morning when Kyungsoo opens the door of his apartment. After having dinner and sauntering through Seoul's busy streets, his parents had to leave. He wasn't exactly happy to let them go for the one-hour long drive back to his hometown when it was this late, but they refused when he suggested they slept at his place. So once they had driven him back to his apartment, he asked his mom to promise she would text him when they'll be safe at home, no matter what time it was, hugged them tightly and waved at the leaving car, looking at both his parents' arm waving back through opened windows.

Once he has showered and changed into a pair of sweatpants and a loose t-shirt, he settles in his bed with his laptop on his lap, planning on watching the last episode of his favorite tv-show to keep him busy until his mom's text message. Just as he is about to click play, his eyes double check around him, looking for his phone. When he can't find it, he groans as he exits the warmth of his bedcover and goes back to the living room to grab the device inside his discarded backpack. However, before he even has the time to get comfortable again on his bed, his best friend's name lits up on the phone screen.  
Well...Baekhyun can probably keep him awake better than a tv-show anyway.

"Hey Byun Baek, what's up ?"

"My dick."

"Nice," Kyungsoo replies in an even tone.

The day Baekhyun won't make any sexual joke or reference, that's when Kyungsoo will start worrying.

"So, why did you call ?" he asks as he covers himself with his thick blanket and wriggles between his pillows.

"I sent you messages you never replied to, earlier. So I called to check if you were still alive."

"You automatically assume that, if I don't reply, it's because I'm dead ?" Kyungsoo snorts.

"Well yeah, what other valid reason would you have ?" Baekhyun states as if it was obvious.

"I could be busy."

"Nah, I said _valid_ reason."

"Right…" Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, without even being able to control his smile, "What did you write in those messages ?"

"Not telling you," his best friend teases in a cute voice.

"Where is this conversation even going ?" the red-haired boy laughs.

"Nowhere. How did you do on stage ?"

"Is that what you asked in your text ?" Kyungsoo fires back, used to the way his friend always jumps from one subject to another.

"No. Well yeah. In one of them."

"It went well," the younger complies before adding, "What was the other ?"

Baekhyun once again dodges the question and keeps on his track of thoughts.

"Well enough for a girl to ask you to take a selfie with her" he comments and Kyungsoo can almost see him wiggling his eyebrows while he smirks.

"How do you even know that ?"

As far as he knows, his best friend wasn't there. Was he ?

"The picture is all on Instagram and Twitter. She uploaded it right after taking it, obviously," Baekhyun explains casually.

"What ?"

"I was just going through the hashtag #dyo when I saw it."

"What ?!"

"Just looking for some derp screenshots I could use as blackmail."

The laid-back tone makes Kyungsoo pause for a few seconds as what the older boy said sinks in.

"Why am I even friend with you..." he sighs, another smile coming to slightly stretch his lips.

"Shut up, you love me," Baekhyun shoots back.

"That's debatable," he chuckles, "So, are you gonna tell me what you wrote in your damn message or what ?"

"My damn message you didn't bother replying to even if you were totally alive ? _That_ message ?"

"Yes, _that_ message. And I was busy, okay ?"

"With what ?" Baekhyun asks, _once again_ avoiding answering.

"My parents came to see the festival. We went out in town to have dinner after it ended."

A little delighted squeal makes Kyungsoo raise his eyebrow before his best friend actually speaks.

"Oh ! How is Ilhwa-ssi ?"

Kyungsoo wants to facepalm.

"Seriously Byun, you need to stop calling my mother by her name like that."

"Why ? She likes it !"

"Just don't."

"She and I are friends ! And if I weren't already taken, I'd totally try to steal her from your father !"

"The fuck are you saying" he laughs in disbelief, shaking his head.

"Hey man, she's hot ! She's got a fine piece of a-"

"Ew !"

"Older women are goal, man. _Your mom_ is goal !"

"Okay, that's it ! I'm breaking up with you. I'm keeping the apartment, you can keep the cat."

"Ouch, I'm hurt ! You'd be my son if I ended up marrying her !"

"I think I'm gonna throw up..."

"Hey, show some respect to your potential father !"

"Father, my ass."

"Language, young man !" Baekhyun scolds him, using the same expression he heard Kyungsoo's mom use with her sons on a few occasions.

Kyungsoo actually facepalms.

"Can we stop talking about how you wanna bang my _mother_ and move on to what your fucking message was about ? Please..."

"You'll have to read it to know !" Baekhyun singsongs, "I'm hanging up now ! Bye !"

Before the red-haired boy can say anything, the older has already ended the call. Kyungsoo shakes his head and opens his text app.  


From : **Annoying Bunny**  
8:12pm -  
_Hey mister famous ! How did your stage performance go ? Bet you nailed it, you talented shit !"_

8:14pm -  
_Are you ignoring me ?_

8:17pm -  
_Are you DEAD ? Do I need to come and find you before your body is all rotten ?_

8:25pm -  
_I'm writing your eulogy. I started it with a Harry Potter reference._

8:26pm -  
_Imma call you D.Obby from now on. *proud*_

9:04pm -  
_Oh btw call me when you're done being dead._

9:05pm -  
_Aka as soon as you'll read that._

9:06pm -  
_Srsly. Undead yourself right now. You wanna hear what I have to say._

  
Kyungsoo scrolls further down but it appears those are the last messages he received from Baekhyun.

"Is he serious..." he mutters with a puzzled chuckle.  


To : **Annoying Bunny**  
1:38am -  
_What is that second thing you wanted to tell me ????_

From : **Annoying Bunny**  
1:39am  
_Didn't you received the 3 last texts :) ?_

  
Kyungsoo scrolls up just a bit and stares at said messages.

"No way..."  


To : **Annoying Bunny**  
1:41am  
_Are you fucking kidding me..._

Baekhyun wouldn't...

From : **Annoying Bunny**  
1:42am  
_What are you waiting for :) ?_  


Of course, he would.

Shaking his head, Kyungsoo exits the text messages app, opens the phone call one and taps on the name on top of the list of his recent calls. The first ring hasn't ended yet before the person picks up.

"Oh ! Kyungsoo ! It's been a while ! Why are you calling me ?" the voice says in a fake surprised tone.

"Baekhyun, I swear I wanna punch you so bad right now..."

"I love you too !" his best friend answer cheerfully.

Kyungsoo groans and refrains from getting up to bang his head against a wall.

"Again, why am I even friend with you."

"Because, again again, you love me back, duh !"

"And _again again again_ , that is open to debate."

But no matter how much he indeed wants to slap some sense into his supposedly-older friend's head, they both know Kyungsoo wouldn't have his phone against his ear right now if Baekhyun weren't right. So he lets it slide and focuses on making his best friend _finally_ spill the beans.

"Well, didn't you check your Instagram tonight ?" Baekhyun asks after the red-haired male threatens him to microwave his kitten if he doesn't explain what this is all about.

"When was I supposed to do so ? I was with my parents, then _someone_ annoyed the shit out of me on the phone."

"Your parents ? Oh ! How is Ilhwa-ssi ?"

"Baekhyun !!" the younger male growls, receiving a joyful laugh in response.

"Alright, alright," he finally chuckles, "You should definitely go and check your account though. You gain a massive amount of followers today. Like, way more than the usual daily batch."

"What ? Wait, why do you even keep track of the number of followers I have ? Are you a stalker in disguise ?"

"Nah, I'm like your manager or something."

"Does that mean I can fire you if I want to ?" Kyungsoo teases, his tongue poking out on his own.

"I guess ? But let's be honest, you need me."

"Sure, sure. So, manager hyung, what do you think is the reason behind the rush of new followers ?"

"Well...just go to your account and scroll through all your notifications. Carefully," Baekhyun advises, faking a serious tone.

"Why ?"

"Just do it. Be patient though, there's a _lot_. But one of them is...worth noticing it," his best friend ends in a mysterious voice, "Don't read the comments, save that for later. Just focus on the likers usernames."

"O…kay ? You could've told me that in your text, you know ?"

"Yeah, I know. I just like bothering you," the older boy snorts and Kyungsoo just can't help but softly laugh. "Alright, gotta go for real now. See ya little house-elf !"

After ending the call, and since his mom still hasn't texted him, Kyungsoo does as he was told and opens Instagram. Just like Baekhyun mentioned, he notices he indeed gain a little less than a thousand followers and glares at the number of notifications written above the little heart. Going through all of them was going to take a while.

He figures the one Baekhyun was talking about wouldn't be in the new listed, since his best friend sent that text hours ago, so he speeds up the scrolling down process until he reaches the notifications he received around the time the older male wrote, then starts reading all the usernames one by one carefully, skipping the comments as the raven-haired boy told him to.

Fifteen minutes later, and after laughing and blushing quite a lot – those sexual references about him people use as username are really too much sometimes –, he still doesn't know what he is supposed to find. He does find strange that a lot of usernames are referring to Kai, but he's pretty sure this is not what Baekhyun was talking about. There's a lot of those, but his best friend was talking about one in particular.  
His mom wrote him in the middle of it, and as he exited the app to reply to her text, he had to scroll down all over again when he went back in. He considers giving up for today, since it is already way past 2am but his curiosity wins, and he keeps going down the list.

He has already stopped keeping track of what time it is when he finally sees it. Lost in the ocean of other notifications, it doesn't look that significant. But as Kyungsoo stares at his glowing screen, the words stand out more than Chanyeol would in a crowd of Minions.  


**kimkaaaaaaai** liked your photo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I tried to give secondary characters some background. Especially Hani, in this chapter. But for Baekhyun and Kyungsoo too. I like all my** characters to be...believable ? Don't want them just to be here as pretty potted plant devoid of any personality. That's just the way I write, so I hope you like the effort I put in this ^^.  
> (** when I say "my", of course, the people I write about don't belong to me, but you got what I meant, right xD ?)
> 
> Also, Kyungsoo and Jongin would like to tell you that it takes maximum 20 seconds to post a little comment when you're done reading :) ! It makes the author's day and helps her improve (KaiSoo's words, not mine :P).


	5. Chapter 5

**kimkaaaaaai** liked your photo.  


No matter how many times Kyungsoo reads that simple sentence, he still can't quite process it. Or actually, he can. What he _can't_ understand though, is why, out of the 612 posts his account is sporting, did Kai like a 10 months old selfie where he is wearing a particularly ugly Christmas sweater – don't judge, he lost a bet with his brother that day and had to upload the picture against his will, as he wrote in the caption back then. He looks ridiculous even in the miniature accompanying the notification.

This is definitely the one Baekhyun was talking about. How his best friend found out remains a mystery – Kyungsoo still doesn't exclude the stalker theory –, but no doubt this is the one.

Kyungsoo's eyes suddenly widen as he realizes something and goes back to the feed. Indeed, just as he thought, the app does show him a handful of unread private messages. He takes a deep breath, strangely nervous and quickly taps his screen to open the right page.  
Kai's username stands out even more in here. It may or may not be because of the cute profile picture. Bracing himself once again, the red-haired male closes one eye, squinting the other and opens the dancer's message.  


**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Hey, this is Kai (haha obviously xD). I just read your pm today, sorry I didn't reply sooner, I've been super extra busy these past few weeks. You know, school and stuff. Anyway, so...it was a long message, I don't rly know how to start answering it xD. Well first, of course I know who you are ^_^ and yes I also knew about the whole mortal enemy thing. Your subscribers have sharp tongues haha ! But that's okay ! I mean I don't take it personally. Well, I kinda do but not really ? Like some of them sorta made me wanna improve, if that makes sense ? Idek xD. I was actually considering sending you a message on YT to…idk, apologize too I guess. It's also my fault I guess, but I swear I didn't choose the songs I danced on after seeing your videos :/ ! You don't have to say sorry for that little fanwar going on tho. Or even for writing a long message. I like mini novel messages ^_^. The longer, the better ! (do NOT take that last sentence out of context tho). Ok so uhm...yeah... That's it I guess. Man, I'm awkward haha xD. Ok bye !_

 **kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Oh btw, pls don't take to heart what some of my subscribers said. I always thought you were super talented, rly !_

  
Kyungsoo blinks at his screen, the blueish light glowing in the dark room as he re-reads the messages Kai sent him a few hours earlier – around 11pm apparently.  
After such a long time waiting for a reply, the red-haired man had more or less convinced himself he wouldn't get any. But even if he had still hoped for one, he wouldn't have expected something like that. The guy seems...cute. This is the only word Kyungsoo can think of to describe it. He remembers already thinking the same back when he scrolled on Kai's account and found all those selcas. And the rambling, awkwardness and overuse of the 'xD' emoticon only strengthen that first impression he had. Now he feels stupid for even thinking the young man had ignored his message. Of course he is busy and with the number of followers his account sports, Kyungsoo's message probably got lost in the amount of others he certainly received.  
Relieved, he exits the app and locks his phone before placing him on the nightstand. Less than 5 minutes after snuggling back under his blanket, the young man is already asleep.

  
♪♫

  
The weekend passes in a blur, between phone conversations with his friends, a Skype session with Seungsoo, some working on school papers and chilling in front of his tv.

As he predicted, Baekhyun teases him when he reads Kai's message to him on their regular Sunday night phone call.

"Awww, look how cutely awkward he is ! Just like you were in your own message !"

"Yeah well, the situation is awkward in itself so..." Kyungsoo counters in a grumpy tone.

"So what are you gonna answer back ?" his best friend asks curiously.

That, however, comes as a surprise for the red-haired male. He didn't exactly plan on replying.

"Do I have to ?" he questions a little hesitantly.

"What do you mean ' _do you have to_ ' ? Of course you do !" Baekhyun fires back and he sounds outraged.

"But-"

"Do you want him to wait like an idiot and become just as paranoid as you were when he didn't reply to your message ?" he continues.

"Well, no, but he didn't really ask any question or anything... And I didn't become _that_ para-"

"Yes you did, and you know it. Do you want me to screenshot some of the text messages you sent me about it to prove it to you ?" the older male snorts.

"No, thanks," he grumbles.

He admits he might've been a little too worried during the few days after he sent that message to the dancer. No need to have a visual proof thrown at his face.

"Alright, so back to my question. What are you gonna reply ?"

"Well I didn't plan on answering, so I don't know..."

He hears the raven-haired boy sigh on the other side of the line.

"Usually, socially awkward people are only awkward in real life and a lot less online. How do you even explain that it's the opposite for you..."

"What ?"

"You're a fucking social butterfly in real life, speaking comfortably to everyone that might come to have a chat with you, even total strangers ! But have you even seen yourself when you read comments complimenting you ?"

"It's just easier to interact with people face to face. You can't see their facial expressions online," he reasons, "People can quickly take things wrong when they read."

"That's what emojis are for, dummy."

"Says the _dummy_ who uses the smiling emoji even when he's being rude."

"That's because I'm smiling _even_ when I'm being rude !" Baekhyun laughs.

"Then what face are you making every time you send that freaking molester moon ?"

"Nah, I just like that one," he cracks up, "Anyway, something's tickling me-"

"Ask Taeyeon noona to stop, then..." Kyungsoo cuts him and he can almost see his best friend rolling his eyes.

"I was talking about Kai's message, you smart-ass."

"What about it ?" the younger asks without being able to repress his chuckle.

"What do you think he means when he says he has _always_ thought you were talented or whatever ?"

" _Talented or whatever_ ? Wow, I can feel your endless support's vibe through my phone, thank you so much !"

"Dickead."

"Wimp."

"Nugget-sucker," Baekhyun fires back and Kyungsoo bursts out laughing.

"What does that even mean ?" he asks, still chortling.

"Who knows. I heard a guy using that in the subway the other day. Since Kai has a chicken wing emoji on his Instagram bio, I thought it'd fit," the older male answers nonchalantly.

Kyungsoo's chokes on his spit.

"The fuck are you talking about ?"

"Well he _'always thought you were super talented_ ' and he liked an old pic where you look like a fucking dweeb. The guy is most likely stalking you since forever."

"Then why am I supposed to be the one sucking the nugget if he's the one doing the stalking – which is only real in your fucknut head."

"You think he's cute, though... Your drunk-self told me so the other night, so don't even bother lying," Baekhyun deadpans.

Kyungsoo frowns and tries to recall talking about that with his best friend.

"...Well he _is_ , but that doesn't mean I-"

"Ah ha ! Gotcha !" the raven-haired male shouts making Kyungsoo jump and almost dropping his phone.

"What ?"

"You didn't actually admit it before, but I knew it !" the older says in a proud voice.

"So ? I don't end up sucking every dude I find cute, you know..."

"Of course you don't. You would've sucked me already if you did !" Baekhyun cackles as if it was obvious.

"You wish," Kyungsoo shoots back immediately, snorting.

"No thanks. Alright, now that we've agreed on the facts that I'm cute, he's cute and you're just weird, let's go back to the initial question. What are you gonna answer ?"

"I still don't know. And you're not helping," the red-haired boy states in an obvious tone, "You're not cute either."

"I take back what I said. You're not only weird. You're hopeless too," Baekhyun sighs dramatically, "I'm trying to help, you know !"

"How is this conversation helpful ?!"

"I'm giving you ideas, you dimwit ! You could start to thank him or whatever, or even ask him why he liked that dorky picture," the Film Making major answers.

"Yeah, I guess... I still don't think his message was calling for an answer, though," Kyungsoo grumbles.

If he has to be honest, it's not that he doesn't want to write back. But writing that first message had been so awkward, he is not sure he wants to go through that again. As his best friend stated earlier, he is not exactly comfortable with talking to people online. Which is a total contradiction with the fact he is some sort of YouTube celebrity. But there is a difference between replying to comments and writing a whole message. He can manage two sentences answers, but the first message he sent to Kai was a good proof that he tends to digress in every awkwardest way possible when he has to engage a real conversation online.

Baekhyun seems to understand what is bothering him – of course he does, he probably knows Kyungsoo more than the younger knows himself – and he sighs calmly before speaking in a soft voice.

"Look, you don't have to write him an essay-long message. Just thank him and...I don't know, tell him you're glad you both cleared things out. Just give him some closure, you know."

"Closure ? Sounds like I'm breaking up with the guy," Kyungsoo chuckles, "Okay, I'll do that I guess. Thanks Baek." he adds, genuinely grateful.

"Anytime. Don't overthink, alright ? And don't break up with him before you've even sucked his-"

"Okay, I'm hanging up now ! See ya !" the red-haired male cuts Baekhyun off before he can go on about the previous subject and after hearing his best friend laughing, he ends the phone call.

He decides to follow Baekhyun's advice to avoid overthinking and immediately opens Instagram to reply right away. He keeps repeating in his head " _Make it short, don't be awkward. Make it short, don't be awkward_ " as a mantra and begins typing.  
He ends up indeed thanking the young man for his compliment and returning it, adding the fact that himself couldn't dance even to save his life and that he is always impressed by people who can make it look effortless. He also adds, as his best friend suggested, that he is relieved they could talk about the whole thing and make sure there was no harsh feeling against the other. It still takes him two entire minutes to find how to end his message and after he has pressed Send, he re-reads the " _Okay...uhm...bye, I guess ? Have a good week (well you might not see this right after I sent it so…maybe it's already next weekend ? Have a good weekend then ! Or half week if you read it around the middle of the week ? Anyway, bye !)_ " he wrote in a total lack of self-restraint. Seriously, how do people end messages ?

"So much for not being awkward..." he sighs as he stands up from his couch and walks to the kitchen to grab something to eat.

  
♪♫

  
When he wakes up the next morning, Kyungsoo lazily stirs, and seeing it's only 9:30am and his classes don't start before 2pm, he allows himself to stay in bed a little longer.

He grabs his phone and starts by checking his emails, then the comments he received on YouTube, answering some questions here and there.  
Finally, he opens Instagram to do the same, first under his posts then in the private messages. He stops for a second when he notices the most recent PM is from Kai, who apparently already replied. Before clicking on the message, he vaguely wonders if the guy has been prompted to write back by a friend, the way Baekhyun did for him.  


**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Ha, you're welcome ! And thank you ^_^ ! Also, I'm pretty sure you can dance better than I can sing ! I'm glad we could talk about it too, I was kinda feeling bad about the whole thing tbh...but I didn't really know how to deal with it? So I was relieved when you messaged me first ^_^'. In case you haven't noticed, I'm kinda awkward xD. .........Like rn, I'm trying to figure out how to end this message and I literally have no idea how to casually do that ? Like...how do people even end messages in a non-awkward way ????? Meh- ...Bye ? (this is so lame omg, I'm sorry xD)_

  
Kyungsoo can't help but laugh after reading the message. The end is so similar to the thoughts he had the night prior, he can just feel the awkwardness dripping from the words on his screen and before he can even think about it, he is already typing an answer.  


**melod.ous**  
_Wow, and I thought I was the only one to struggle AF to end messages ! I feel better about it now, thanks to you !! (and no, I swear I can't dance. Like…no. Just no.)_

  
He re-reads Kai's message just because, and he is about to exit the app and lock his phone to finally get out of bed when a few words pop up under his reply.

  
**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_OMG no I totally feel you ! Like srsly, only saying 'bye' is so freaking awkward and lame but like…I'm not gonna write 'cordially' or something like that !!!_

  
Then right after.

  
**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_And shush, everybody can dance :P_

  
Kyungsoo blinks at his screen, eyebrows raised. Did Kai really just reply to him instantly after he sent his own message ? Is he really on his phone right now ? Hesitantly, he starts typing again.

  
**melod.ous**  
_we should create a petition to invent a non-awkward word or expression to end message... (and no I can't !)_

  
He presses Send and waits.

For less than 10 seconds.  


**Kimkaaaaaaai**  
_I'm in !!! (and yes you can !)_

  
From then, the conversation flows pretty easily, and Kyungsoo learns that Kai is a year younger than him, that he started attending dance classes when he was eight years old – to what Kyungsoo replies he began to be interested in singing around the same age – and that he started on YouTube about three years ago, despite his current channel being only one year old.  


**melod.ous**  
_same for me, I started during the summer after graduating high school_

 **kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Rly ?_

 **melod.ous**  
_yeah, back then I was recording my videos in my old bedroom with just my guitar. There was a 4Minute poster on my wall behind me, glorious..._

 **kimkaaaaaaai**  
_OMG I have to go watch those vids xD !_

 **melod.ous**  
_oh god please don't ! I still cringe just thinking about it ! the quality was just...ew._

 **kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Eyyy I'm sure it's not that bad, come on :P_

 **melod.ous**  
_oh it is, trust me ! it could kill your retinas AND your eardrums all at once_

 **kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Hahaha wow xD okay hyung, you convinced me there xD_

  
Once again, Kyungsoo finds himself blinking blankly at his phone screen. Hyung ? Where did that come from ?

  
**melod.ous**  
_uhm...ok good..._

 **kimkaaaaaaai**  
_??? You okay ?_

 **melod.ous**  
_yeah_

 **kimkaaaaaaai**  
_:/_

 **melod.ous**  
_no I'm okay ! I just..._

 **kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Uh oh... Are you creeped out xD ?_

 **melod.ous**  
_creeped out?_

 **kimkaaaaaaai**  
_By the 'hyung' thing ?_

 **kimkaaaaaaai**  
_You're older than me, so..._

  
How did Kai know that was why he was unsettled, Kyungsoo doesn't know. But he is glad he doesn't need to explain it.

   
**melod.ous**  
_it's okay it just surprised me I guess ?_

 **kimkaaaaaaai**  
_okay xD_  


A glance at the time and Kyungsoo realizes he should really start to get ready for class if he doesn't want his teacher to lecture him in front of the whole room for being late.

  
**melod.ous**  
_uhm I kinda have to go, it's getting late and I have classes soon so…_

 **kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Oh yeah sure no problem ! I should get ready too actually ^_^_

 **melod.ous**  
_okay so uhm...bye ?_

 **kimkaaaaaaai**  
_hahaha_

 **kimkaaaaaaai**  
_yeah, "bye" xD_

 **kimkaaaaaaai**  
_#AwkwardMessageEndingTeam_

 **melod.ous**  
_*joins the team*_

 **kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Welcome \o/_

  
Kyungsoo gently smiles at his screen and shakes his head, a little laugh brushing out of his lips, before locking his phone and finally getting up. Seems like he is still bad at ending conversations.

  
♪♫

  
Between assignments and video making, the week passes in a blur and Kyungsoo finds himself sitting on one of the bean bags in his living room, a beer in his greasy hand, surrounded by his friends during their Friday boys night. He is once again thankful his next doors neighbors are all around his age and don't mind loud music, or the police would've already barged in his flat. He knows he is extremely lucky to be famous enough on Youtube to actually get paid and be able to afford to rent an apartment instead of having to live in his university's dorm. The fact that his neighbors don't mind loud noises even at night is just the cherry on top, even if he tries to keep the disturbance as minimal as he can, past 8pm.

Friday nights are the exception.

"I swear this girl is gonna kill me !"

"Come on Hyung, Eunji noona is not _that_ bad !" Kyungsoo says, patting a grumbling Junmyeon.

"True, she's one of the nicest girls I know," Baekhyun adds with a nod, "Try dating Taeyeon for a week, you'll run back to your girlfriend in a second after that !"

"She's gonna empty my bank account, though ! Have you even any idea how many times she made me take her on a date just this past month ?"

"It's not as if you were broke, Hyung... You make it sound like she's dating you for your money." Chanyeol snorts, rolling his eyes.

"It's not like that, it's just..."

"Didn't she buy you an Armani jacket for your birthday ? Like, this shit is fucking expensive !" Baekhyun cuts him with his mouth full, spitting little chewed chicken pieces on the table.

"You're cleaning that, Baek," Kyungsoo points out before turning to Junmyeon, "Hyung, Noona is willingly dating you despite your questionable sense of humor. What are you complaining about ?" he asks, suppressing a laugh.

"And she was the one who approached you to begin with !" Henry continues.

"Why are you all against me ?" Junmyeon complains, a fake, desperate expression stretching his face.

"You're too fun to tease, Hyung, that's why," Kyungsoo replies, unable to conceal his chuckle this time.

"Have some respect for your elder, midget !" Baekhyun butts in.

"Midget ? We're the same height," Kyungsoo states, lifting an eyebrow.

"No way, everybody knows I'm taller than you."

Chanyeol lets out a gross snort at that.

"Yeah you wish..." he teases.

"Aren't you supposed to be on my side ?" Baekhyun exclaims, an outraged look on his face.

"Since when ?"

"Since my girlfriend helped you getting that blue-haired chick number !" Baekhyun reminds him.

" _Noona_ helped me. Not you," the giant counters.

"She wouldn't have if I didn't ask her to."

Chanyeol blinks at Baekhyun for a few seconds, then turns his eyes to look at Kyungsoo

"Right...Kyungsoo, you midget," he deadpans.

"Thank you," Baekhyun nods in an even tone.

"You're welcome," Chanyeol answers before he resumes eating his chicken wing.

"I'm surrounded by idiots…" Kyungsoo sighs, shaking his head.

"That's 1000₩ in the Disney-quote-shamming jar, Maknae."

Kyungsoo groans at Henry's comment and takes another gulp of his beer.

  
♪♫

  
Less than an hour later, Junmyeon looks down at his phone for what seems like the thousandth time and Kyungsoo frowns. The blond male has been eyeing his screen all night and Kyungsoo is now starting to wonder if his friend has actually a more serious problem. He feels bad for teasing him so much. Maybe he shouldn't have dismissed the whole Eunji topic, if it is a real concern for the older male.

He makes sure the three others are too deep into their conversation before sliding on the couch to get nearer to the bean bag Junmyeon has been sitting on since they arrived.

"Hyung ? Is something bothering you ?" he asks, looking at his friend with careful eyes.

"Mmh ?"

"You've been checking your phone every five minutes since you guys came in," he points out, "Is it about noona ? Did something happen ?"

Junmyeon finally lifts his eyes from his phone's screen and smiles gently.

"No, don't worry Kyungsoo-ya. Eunji and I are fine. You guys were right earlier."

"You sure ?"

"I'm sure. I just need to adjust, I guess. We haven't been dating for long and none of my previous girlfriends were so..."

"Energetic ?" Kyungsoo offers with a little smile.

"Yeah" the blond male chuckles.

"I remember when you were dating Yoona noona. You guys had a completely different couple dynamic."

"You're right. It's a nice change, to be honest," the blond softly laugh.

Kyungsoo takes a few seconds to observe his hyung's expression, repressing a chuckle. The man is totally whipped.

"I think Eunji noona helped you opening more lately. So it _is_ nice, yeah," he comments, nodding, "And she's awesome, even if she's hyper pretty much all the time," he adds, smirking at Junmyeon, who laughs, showing his cute eyesmile.

"She really is."

"So if it's not about her, what's bothering you enough to have your eyes glued to your phone ?" Kyungsoo asks again, not forgetting the older's actions.

"What are you guys whispering over here ?" Baekhyun interrupts suddenly, seemingly done with whatever he was talking about with Chanyeol and Henry.

Junmyeon opens his mouth to answer but a little _ding!_ from his phone cuts him. He grabs it and opens what looks like a text message and a wide smile stretches his lips before he locks it again and looks up.

"Okay so, I know this is usually just us five on Friday nights but, I might have asked someone to join us..."

"Eunji ?" Chanyeol asks, raising his eyebrows. "But it's supposed to be a _boys_ night..."

"No..." Junmyeon answers briefly, letting his eyes slide towards Kyungsoo, before he continues, looking a little hesitant. "The thing is...you've been single for a while now, Kyungsoo-ya, and...I know your last relationship didn't exactly end well, but..."

Kyungsoo frowns, starring at the older male.

"Hyung...who is supposed to be coming ?" he inquires slowly.

"Well, it's actually Eunji's friend. He transferred to our school this semester. Really, he's nice and...quite handsome, I guess. I think he's your type." Junmyeon explains, making a little pose at the end of his sentence. Kyungsoo is about to answer but the blond starts talking again. "I know you said you didn't want to date someone else yet, but-"

"It's not that I don't want to, Hyung." the red-haired male effectively cuts him. "I just don't have the time for that, right now !"

A little silence hovers in the small living room before Junmyeon sighs.

"Please, just...at least let me introduce the both of you. I'm sure you'll click once you meet him," he pleads, "He looked kind of eager to be able to meet you..."

"Oh my god, sasaeng fan alert !" Baekhyun laughs loudly.

"No no no, it's not like that !" Junmyeon shakes his hands in front of him to dismiss what the raven-haired male just said. "I mean, he knows who you are, of course. Everyone in school does. But... Okay, look, just meet him and have a chat or whatever. No pressure. If you like him, awesome ! If you don't, it's fine too. And like I said, I'm pretty sure he's your type of guy."

Kyungsoo eyes the older male for a few more seconds before sighing in defeat.

"All right. If you say he's nice, I trust you... When is he supposed to come by ?"

"He just exited the subway station, so in around ten minutes I guess. He's bringing more stuff to eat and drink. He was actually abnormally thrilled when I told him we were eating chicken, that was weird, to be honest..."

"What's his name ?"

"Wait ! Chicken !" Baekhyun suddenly shouts, stopping Junmyeon who was about to answer Kyungsoo's question. "What about Dancing-Chicken-Dude ?!"

"Who ?"

"What about the nugget-sucking mission ?!!" Baekhyun hollers, looking at Kyungsoo, a scandalized expression painting his face.

"The fuck are you talking about ?" Chanyeol says, laughing lightly.

Junmyeon and Henry are staring at Baekhyun as if he had just grown a second head and Kyungsoo wants to facepalm so bad.

"Don't mind him, you know his brain doesn't function properly past 7pm. He's a lost cause." Kyungsoo deadpans.

"What a disrespectful Maknae ! Dishonor on you, dishonor on your cow !" Baekhyun replies, pointing his finger at the younger.

"What's with you and Disney's quotes tonight, guys ?" Henry ponders, confused about what exactly is happening.

"Kyungsoo started it !" Baekhyun cries, his index still pointed at his best friend and Junmyeon sighs, shaking his head.

"Seriously, how old are you…" the blond male aks.

"However old you need me to be, baby," Baekhyun seductively whispers.

"Ew, please don't..."

"What ? It worked with Taeyeon."

"What the heck ?" Junmyeon exclaims, eyes wide open.

"For real though," Kyungsoo pokes in, pleased that his best friend had dropped the previous topic, "That's what he told her when she asked him his age the first time they met."

Baekhyun proudly nods.

"Well, I'm not interested, thanks !" Junmyeon points out.

"Your loss !" Baekhyun quickly answers.

"Yeah, your loss," Kyungsoo adds and three pairs of eyes turn to look at him in the next second.

"Wait, what ?"

"We were drunk, shut up," Baekhyun clarifies.

"I'm sorry, _what_ ?!" Henry repeats.

"He's a great kisser, even drunk," Kyungsoo shrugs.

"Thank you, buddy. Right back at you !" Baekhyun smiles, reaching out over the coffee table to give Kyungsoo a fist bump.

The three others clearly look like they want to say something, but before any of them can make a comment, the intercom rings.  
Kyungsoo stands up and side-eyes Junmyeon, a judging look on his face. His friend instantly gets the silent message. If the guy is weird, Kyungsoo won't hesitate to kick the blond male – and the newcomer – out of his flat. He presses the button opening the front building's door and waits for a few minutes, looking at his friends who, for some reason, started a thumb-fight competition. As Baekhyun whoops in victory, and Chanyeol takes a big defeated gulp of his beer, the ring bell chimes. He unlocks the door, and, taking a deep breath, he turns the knob and opens it, his eyes immediately falling on the guy's smiling face.

And he blanks.

Well... He doesn't know what he expected, or if he was even expecting anything at all, but if he had been...he clearly wouldn't have predicted _that_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know, kinda little cliffhanger here. Don't kill me yet please !!  
> Hope you liked that chapter too !


	6. Chapter 6

Kyungsoo sighs again, sinking a little more into the couch cushions.

On the other side of the food and drinks covered coffee table, Baekhyun, sitting on the ground, a hand on his face, is not even trying to hide his silent chortles. Kyungsoo wants to smack him. But he can't even blame his best friend. The whole situation is just so absurd. He knows he definitely would be cackling to if this was happening to the raven-haired male. The boy _knows_. He was here back then.

Unfortunately, he is the one being laughed at right now. And he does not like it one bit. This is fucking awkward. Maybe if he wiggles on the couch a little more, it could actually swallow him so he wouldn't have to go through all this.

Sounds like a good plan, right ?

Right...

Or he could just keep on refusing to look to his right, where the new comer is smiling like this is just totally not awkward.

Baekhyun's whispered laugh intensifies and Kyungsoo really _really_ wants to throw his beer at him. But he will definitely need the alcohol to get through the night. So instead of covering his dumb best friend in sticky liquid, he grabs his half full bottle and gulps it down in one go, wincing as the bitter bubbles crackle in his throat.

Chanyeol and Henry are standing over his vinyl records shelves, arguing about what album they want to play next.

"So..." Junmyeon trails, looking a little hesitant and confused, his eyes darting between Baekhyun, Kyungsoo and the new addition to the party.

Kyungsoo needs another beer. Or something stronger. The guy actually brought soju, along with some more boxes of fried chicken. Kyungsoo could definitely go with the rice liquor right now.

But that would mean asking the guy to give the bottle to him. And that would mean acknowledging him.  
And _that_ is not an option.

The only thing going on in his mind – beside planning on kicking Baekhyun's balls if he doesn't stop giggling _right now_ – is to wonder _why_ ?

Why, indeed. Out of all the boys Junmyeon could have tried to set him up with, why did it have to be _him_?

Kyungsoo is flailing inside of his head, mentally throwing his arms all around like a panicking tube-man. He wishes he could do that for real, though. So he grabs another beer and uncaps it, quickly gulping on it.

"Okay, seriously, you guys need to decide. Let's vote !" Henry suddenly says, effectively cutting Junmyeon from heavily staring at Kyungsoo with insisting eyes.

Clearly, he wants him to speak to the guy.

"Henry wants to play Scorpions' _Eye II Eye_ ," Chanyeol frowns, "I'm more feeling like listening to some Santana's stuff. Like _Supernatural_ , maybe."

"Could we play Steevie Wonder's _Songs in the Key of Life_ album instead ?"

Everyone in the room – including Kyungsoo, surprisingly – turns to look at the new comer who just talked in a serene voice. But if four pairs of eyes are slightly surprised, the fifth is clearly alarmed.  
Kyungsoo knows his eyes probably look like they're about to pop out of their socket as he mentally curses the boy for at least twelve generations.

Silence drapes the living room. Even Baekhyun has shut up, obviously trying his best to contain his laugh as his lips are squeezed in a thin tense line.

Until Chanyeol cocks an eyebrow and opens his mouth.

"How do you know Kyungsoo has this album ?" he asks, doubtlessly confused.

The cogs in Kyungsoo's brain are spinning fast, trying to find something to divert everyone's attention. In the span of a few milliseconds, he even considers singing and dancing to Orange Caramel's Catallena or impulsively standing on the couch to attempt a backflip. He doesn't really know. He just needs _something_. _Anything_.

But as if life was playing with him – and it's probably the case, seeing how the night is going –, the voice on his right echoes again in the quiet room.

"Cause I gave it to him for his birthday four years ago."

"I'm sorry, what ?" Chanyeol blinks at the guy.

"I gave that album to him for his b-"

"Yeah, no, I heard you the first time."

"Pretty sure he meant _what the hell are you talking about ?_ " Henry provides with a baffled expression and Chanyeol nods hastily.

"Do you guys already know each other ?" Junmyeon inquires with an equally puzzled face.

Baekhyun finally bursts out laughing, eyes squeezed shut, nearly bumping his forehead on the coffee table as he convulsively jerks forward, clutching at his stomach.

Kyungsoo groans and closes his eyes.

This is not happening. He refuses to believe it.

"Baekhyun ?"

Chanyeol's voice sounds just as perplex as his face looks.

"Sorry, this is-" the raven-haired male starts, hiccups of giggle altering his speech, "...way too funny !" he ends, before another fit of uncontrollable and loud open-mouthed laugh has him covering his lips to prevent drool to fall out. Of course. They've been best friends for pretty much their whole life. He knows _everything_.

"Wait, why didn't you tell me you knew Kyungsoo ? You said you wanted to meet him..." Junmyeon asks.

"Because you would've told him," the guy replies nonchalantly, "And then he wouldn't have let you invite me here."

"Why not ?"

Another wave of roaring laugh coming from Baekhyun resonates in the room, and Kyungsoo groans again, covering his face in his hands, just wanting to disappear.

"We dated, back in high school," the guy answers calmly once again.

"What ?"

"And I actually wanted to meet him. Just not the first-meeting kind of...meeting."

"Okay, no. Wow. _Rewind !_ What ?!!" Junmyeon asks again and the guy chuckles lightly.

Kyungsoo sights silently and turns his head to blankly stare at the messy coffee table. He just wanted to chill and have a fun night with his friends. How did he get to this point ?

He wonders if he was some sort of dark wizard eating kittens and puppies for breakfast in his past life. Maybe that would explain why karma had decided to make his night a living hell in his present one.

He knows there is no turning back. He is gonna have some explanations to give, obviously. But before he can even say anything, the young man sitting on his right beats him again.

"We went to high school together and dated for around two years," he says way too calmly for Kyungsoo's taste, "But he dumped me a few days before graduation."

The red-haired boy can feel the guy's eyes on him now.

Really, can this couch be useful and finally swallow him _now_ ?

"What the fuck ?"

Chanyeol exclamation activate Baekhyun's laughing mode once again and the raven-haired male topples over, falling slowly on the fluffy rug covering the floor.

"Wait a second..." Junmyeon utters slowly.

Kyungsoo looks up just as the older male turns his eyes to him. He can see it. He can actually see his friend's brain working and connecting all the pieces together. So he braces himself.

Definitely no turning back, now.

"It was _him_ ?" Junmyeon blurts out in disbelief, "The overly-clingy boyfriend you talked about ? It was _Hyunsik_ ?"

Baekhyun actually ends up covered with beer a few minutes later when Kyungsoo finally reaches the point where he can't handle his best-friend hysterical laughter any longer.

  
♪♫

  
A husky groan comes out of his lips the second Kyungsoo wakes up feeling like his brain is slowly being eaten up by dozens of praying mantis. He carefully opens his eyes, squinting as the sunlight coming from his window burns his retinas. After a few minutes trying to adjust to the brightness, he takes a look around him only to find his bedroom surprisingly empty. His friends are usually spending the night here after their Friday gathering, more often than not too tired and tipsy to be sure to go home safely. He blinks, trying to remember how he ended up in his bed, but blurry memories are all he can find in his mind. He does recall grabbing a bottle of soju at some point and drinking straight from it, skipping the pouring-in-a-shot-glass part.

That would explain the pounding headache.

When he turns his head to his nightstand, trying to locate his phone to see what time it is, he spots a glass of water and a few pills sitting on top of a piece of paper.  
He cautiously sits up, trying to avoid any abrupt movement that could intensify the throbbing in his brain, and grabs the note, immediately recognizing the neat handwriting.  
  


_Morning dumbass ! How's your head ?_

_You're pretty wasted as I'm writing this so the awesome best friend I am tucked you into bed._

_We're all going home to let you rest. We didn't drink that much anyway, your selfish ass stole almost all the soju._

_Pop the painkillers down your throat and drink a lot of water, okay ? If you're nice, I'll let you watch the vids I took of you during the peak of the night ;P !_

_PS: Junmyeon hyung feels super bad about the whole Hyunsik thing so don't be too harsh with him._

_PPS : You also might wanna check your Instagram PMs, just saying :)_

_See ya !_

_~ your fave bunny (don't lie, I am)_

 

" _Fave_ , my ass," Kyungsoo mumbles with a little smile.

As usual, you can count on Baekhyun to be rude, nice, protective and teasing all in less than ten lines.

Kyungsoo chooses to follow the advices and gulps down the painkillers his best friend left on his nightstand, deciding to stay in bed a little more to let his headache subside before he goes on with his day.  
Grabbing his phone, he opens right away the text messages his friends sent to him while he was dead asleep.  
  


From : **Annoying Bunny**  
10:04am-  
_Are you awake ?_

10:06am-  
_I guess not_

10:07am-  
_I'm sorry Kyungsoo :)_

  
Kyungsoo frowns, trying to understand why his best friend could be sorry for. Maybe it has something to do with what he mentioned about his Instagram private messages ? Kyungsoo knows his best friend loves to send him derp screenshot of his video that he finds on random fan accounts. It must be a really terrible one this time. Shaking his head with a little smile, he opens Chanyeol's text, which was apparently sent just a few minutes ago.

  
From : **Dumbyeol**  
10:15am-  
_I just was on the phone with Baek. I'm surprised he's still alive ! Haven't you check your IG yet or what ??_

  
"What the..." the red-haired male starts.

But before he can finish his sentence, his best friend name pops up on the screen above in a new text message notification. Once, and then twice, ten seconds later.  
Kyungsoo's fingers hovers on top of his phone screen, hesitating. Whatever that new text says, he can somehow feel he is not gonna like it.

He taps the open button anyway.

And blanches.  
  


From : **Annoying Bunny**  
10:28am-  
_I'm still amazed by your dancing skills_

10:28am-  
_Chumchuneun~ jageun kkatallena nado moreuge ppajyeo deureoga~_

  
Not waiting any longer, he taps the calling icon and a ring later, his best friends picks up.

"Morning sunshine !" the raven-haired boy chirps happily.

"Baekhyun, what did you do ?"

"I'm fine, thanks ! How are _you_ ?" he answers cheerfully, not minding his best friend's tense tone.

"What did you do ?" Kyungsoo presses, not really in the mood for Baekhyun's playfulness.

"Nothing ! ...Almost ? You didn't go to your Instagram yet, did you ?..."

"Baekhyun..." the red-haired male grumbles, jaw stiff.

"Okay, I might have used your phone to take a video of you drunk-dancing last night ?" his best friend offers hesitantly.

"And ? Wait, how did you even get the right code to unlock it ?"

"Please, I'm your best friend. I know you better than anyone else. And you're _so_ predictable."

"Screw you. What did you do ?" Kyungsoo harshly asks, growing more and more impatient every second, his pounding headache not helping.

"Well I also might have sent a little clip to someone ?"

"Are you serious ? Baek !"

"Don't plan on killing me yet, okay ? You were upset, I was just trying to help you !" Baekhyun nervously answers with an uneasy chuckle.

"Help me ? The fuck are you talking about ? Who did you send it to ?"

"...Nugget-lover ?" his best friend replies, sounding more like a question than an actual answer, and Kyungsoo can clearly hear he is anxious.

"Who ? Is that a username or-" Kyungsoo starts, clicking his tongue as he gets annoyed and confused, before it hits him and he grits his teeth, "No way. You didn't-"

"But you think he's cute !" the Film Making major cuts him in a pleading voice, knowing his best friend finally understood what was going on.

"Baekhyun, for fuck's sake ! Would you stop that ?" Kyungsoo shouts angrily, "Why are you trying to interfere with my life like this ? Don't you have enough shit to deal with in your own relationship at the moment ?" he snarls, knowing perfectly it's a vicious thing to say, since Baekhyun and Taeyeon are having some issues these days.

He knows his comment has the desired effect when he hears his best friend light gasp.

 "Listen, I'm sorry, Kyungsoo. I- I was a little tipsy and you were so funny and I just... I just- I don't know ! You were really upset before and I just wanted... I- I didn't really think about it, okay ?" Baekhyun utters, stuttering as he tries to appease his best friend.

"You know, one day, karma is gonna mess up with you big time, and I'll happily enjoy watching you falling apart," Kyungsoo answers coldly.

"Okay, look, please don't be mad. It was stupid, I know. I'm sorry, for real."

"Fuck you, Baekhyun," The red-haired male snaps before ending the call and harshly dropping his phone on the mattress, letting it bounce as he gets up and goes straight to his bathroom to take a shower.

  
♪♫

  
"How long are you gonna stay mad at him, Kyung' ? I mean, he apologized..."

"I don't care, Hyung ! He shouldn't have done it in the first place !" Kyungsoo sighs as he sends an annoyed look at his laptop screen where his brother's face is frowning at him.

Sunday nights are usually spent on the phone with Baekhyun, but given their current situation, Kyungsoo decided to skype Seungsoo instead.

"He didn't mean to upset you, you know that, right ? You guys were drunk. Shit always happen when alcohol is involved..." Seungsoo tries to reason.

"Yeah, you would know, wouldn't you ?" the younger male smirks, cocking an eyebrow.

"Shut up," his brother chortles, "But seriously, you know how impulsive he can be. The boy doesn't think before he speaks or acts."

"So ? Does that give him the right to do stuff like that ?" the red-haired male fires back, crossing his arms and staring back at his brother.

"You're such a stubborn baby," Seungsoo groans, shaking his head and rolling his eyes, "That Kai boy seems nice, from what you've told me. I don't think he will make fun of you, if that's what you're worried about. The video isn't that bad anyway, come on."

"I know that, it's not the problem," the younger sighs, running a hand through his messy hair.

And it really isn't. When he finally felt calm enough after his phone call with Baekhyun the day before, he had opened Instagram to see exactly how many years he would have to hide under a rock.  
It turned out that it wasn't as bad as he initially thought it would be. Baekhyun's cameraman talents weren't exactly showcased in the short video, only showing Kyungsoo standing on his couch and drunkenly dancing the first 30 seconds of Orange Caramel's Catallena. It could have been worse, he guessed. While he was showering, he had noticed a pretty big bruise on his lower back and another one on his right elbow, so he could only assume he had fell from the couch at some point during the choreography. _That_ could've ended up in the video.

He had sent it to Seungsoo when they started talking earlier and even though his brother had clearly tried to hide his laugh while watching it, Kyungsoo knew he was genuinely thinking the little clip wasn't that terrible.

"I don't really care about that. I mean, yeah, I kinda do, but I just-…" Kyungsoo stutters, unable to find the right words, before finally releasing a long sigh.

"Then what is it ?"

"I'm just pissed off because they're all poking their noses in my private life ! Junmyeon invited Hyunsik ! _Hyunsik_ , Seungsoo !" the Composition major exclaims, skipping the honorifics.

"Yeah okay, that was a little twisted. But for Jun's defense, he didn't know about the both of you..."

"Henry hyung tried to set me up with a guy during summer break too !" Kyungsoo continues, brushing his brother's comment, "And Chanyeol hyung keeps trying to convince me to go on a date with his cousin."

"Then just go, and he'll stop bothering you !" Seungsoo states, throwing his hands around in a why-are-you-being-so-difficult-for-god's-sake motion.

"Park Sunyoung is a girl, Hyung. She is _not_ exactly my type..." the younger male deadpans, lifting an eyebrow.

"Oh..."

"Yeah..."

"But Chanyeol knows you're not into girls, doesn't he ?"

"He knows, but she keeps on nagging him, from what I understood."

"Then maybe you could-"

"No, I don't wanna lead her on. That would be plain mean. Anyway, Baekhyun was the only one who hasn't tried to set me up with someone. And I was so glad ! But now he's just constantly telling me ' _but you think he's cute_ ' and shit like that and seriously, why can't they just mind their own business ?!" Kyungsoo loudly grunts.

"You guys are friends. They just want you to be happy, that's why," Seungsoo tries again.

"Then they should let me handle my life the way I want to !" the red-haired male asserts, "I don't have time for a relationship, right now !"

"Alright, calm down. I understand, okay ?" his brother sighs, "I still think you should talk to Baekhyun. He must feel really bad since you keep refusing to answer all of his phone calls or texts."

"Whatever. Can we drop the subject, please ?" Kyungsoo tiredly breathes out right before he catches a female voice coming from his speakers, "Who was that ?" he asks, lifting his eyebrows, "I thought you were alone."

Just as he finishes speaking, he sees his brother's eyes turning to the side and mouthing something before looking back at him, an embarrassed expression painted on his face.

"Uhm...that would be Jiyeon..." he says slowly, shifting in his chair and smiling nervously.

"And _who_ exactly is Jiyeon ?" Kyungsoo teases, his tongue poking out between his teeth as he sees the older male's cheeks flushing.

If someone had ever told him he would witness his brother _blushing_ , he would have never believed it.

"One of the interns in my office's department..." the older male answers.

"Right... And what is your intern doing in your apartment at 9pm on a Sunday evening ?" Kyungsoo nudges, amused to see his older brother so flustered.

"Well she's also my...girlfriend, I guess ?" Seungsoo gives in, his right hand scratching behind his ear as he smiles shyly.

"You guess ?" the female voice laughs right before Kyungsoo sees a teddy bear entering the screen, and bumping into his brother's head.

The red-haired male watches as Seungsoo turns his scandalized face to where the girl is probably standing and sends the poor plush flying back to her. He hears her joyful laugh growing louder and suddenly, a cute face is invading the screen as thin arms are coming to rest around his brother's neck.

"Hi Kyungsoo ! I'm Park Jiyeon, Seungsoo's girlfriend ! Nice to meet you !" the girl happily singsongs, standing behind the older Do brother and bending so she can fit in the screen, long brown hair falling on Seungsoo's shoulder, "We're the same age, so you can speak comfortably to me !" she adds with a big smile on her face.

"Hi, nice to meet you too !" Kyungsoo answers, smiling back.

After a little chat, Jiyeon leaves, rushing to turn on the tv so she won't miss the very last episode of her favorite drama, and Kyungsoo is left alone with his brother again.

"Does mom and dad know ?" he asks curiously.

"No yet. But I'm considering bringing her home for Christmas, so they can meet her."

"Wow, it's _that_ serious between you two, isn't it ?" Kyungsoo smiles knowingly.

"It's only been a few months but...yes, I think it is..." his brother breathes calmly, a shy smile stretching his lips.

"Oh no ! Don' cry baby Hyun ! It's not your fault Min is like this !" Jiyeon whines in the distance and the Do brothers both chuckle, hearing how immersed in the episode she already is.

"I'm happy for you, Hyung," Kyungsoo confides, "She seems really nice and fun. Mom and dad are gonna love her, I'm sure."

"I think so too. Not a word to them though, keep that to yourself," the older male answers, getting a nod from Kyungsoo before loud gasp from the girl has them both chortling again, "I should go watch that episode with her. She's gonna kill that teddy bear soon if she keeps squishing it like that." he smiles.

"Go and save the poor plushie, then," Kyungsoo advices.

"I'll call you again soon. And your stubborn ass better have talked to Baekhyun before then, alright ?"

"Sure, sure," Kyungsoo replies, brushing his brother half-hearted threat away with a roll of his eyes, "Hurry up, I can hear her sobbing."

"Shit. Okay, talk to you later ! Bye Kyung Cutie !" Seungsoo singsongs and Kyungsoo snorts when he hears the old username he used in his middle school's online chats.

"Shut the fuck up and go take care of your crying _intern_ !"

Kyungsoo finally ends the video call after waving back at his brother and closes his laptop before slouching against the backrest of his couch.

He lazily grabs his phone and opens the Instagram app, going straight to the private message chat he has with Kai. The video and little caption Baekhyun added – " _what a cute sushi_ ", referring to the song MV – are still notified as Unseen, just as the message he sent right after finding out.  
  


**melod.ous**  
_oh. my. god. I'm really, really, reaaaaally sorry. my best friend took that video last night and he thought it was funny to send it to you. I don't even know...he's just stupid. We were drunk and I'm seriously sorry ! please don't be weirded out !_

  
He still isn't sure if he is relieved that Kai hasn't seen that yet, or scared of what the boy could say once he will. Probably both, he thinks. He doesn't even know if he actually wants the dancer to reply. This is so embarrassing.

His fingers hover hesitantly over the digital keyboard as he considers sending another round of apologies, but he finally decides against it and locks his phone before standing up to cook himself something to eat his worries away.

  
♪♫

  
Some days, it seems like everything is working in your favor. A teacher unexpectedly absent, a bill found inside the pocket of a jacket you haven't wear in a long time, your iPod randomly playing all your favorite songs one after the other, receiving a compliment from a random stranger in the subway, a cashier giving you by error more change than they should've have, a good grade on a test you thought you had failed, the sun peeking out between clouds when rain was announced to last all day, ordering the last of your favorite pastry in a bakery, hearing your friends saying nice things about you when they don't know you can hear them, finding a new café that serves awesome drinks _and_ offers free wifi and a free glass of water with your coffee.

And some other days, karma seems to have decided to make you pay for every teeny tiny bad things you've done in the past.

That Friday is one of those for Kyungsoo.

It started when he woke up late, really late, having forgotten to set his alarm when he went to bed around 3am after finishing writing a paper. He had to skip coffee and breakfast to be able to arrive to school on time. He exited his apartment, messy hair and jacket half put on, hopping on one foot, still trying to slip on his left sneaker, in too much of a hurry to untie the laces, and ended up falling in the middle of the hallway and breaking his key _inside_ the keyhole due to the side bend it had been put through during his fall.

He had to walk under the pouring rain, because, _of_ course, in his hurry he had forgotten his umbrella, and after arriving at his bus stop forty minutes later than usual, he had to wait an extra ten minutes for the bus to show up. Said bus was packed and he was forced to stand up during the whole ride, trying not put too much of his body weight on his aching ankle.

After arriving in front of his classroom – already ten minutes late –, Kyungsoo found out the lesson would be temporarily given in another room, due to some maintenance the usual one needed. His sore ankle had slowed him down enough to have him limping in the new classroom twenty minutes late under the displeased look of his teacher. It turned out the class was in a middle of a surprise test and he ended up having to try and complete it in half the time the others had been given. He barely arrived on time for his next class and had to seat next to the most fidgeting human being ever, since it was the last free seat available. Then he realized he had forgotten his textbook in his rush to leave his apartment earlier and was forced to share his seatmate's, who kept moving in his chair, bouncing his legs, clicking and chewing on his pen, cracking his knuckles, and overall just twitching way too much for Kyungsoo to handle in his tired state.

He also had to skip lunch, going back to his apartment after calling a locksmith – who charged him an incredibly high amount of money to fix his lock problem and told him to come and get his new key at their shop before 7pm – and then rushing back to school under the still pouring rain, once again barely on time for his first afternoon class.  
Two classes later, and after emptying his backpack and going through all his things in front of his amused classmates, Kyungsoo figured out he had _also_ forgotten his USB stick, which contained the last composition piece he had worked on for his assignment and was supposed to hand to his professor that day. His teacher thankfully understood when he vaguely explained and told Kyungsoo he would give him until Monday afternoon to hand it. But points would be taken off his grade nonetheless, because of the delay.

Then, to make his day even more perfect, his phone had run out of battery a few minutes earlier, right after he had received a call from the locksmith telling him his key wouldn't be ready until the morning after, and letting him with nowhere to sleep that night and no way to contact anyone.

That's how Kyungsoo found himself in the university's computer room, hoping he could use online chats to beg his friends for shelter that night, explaining them the whole keyhole problem. At this point, he would even be fine with sleeping in a bathtub.  
But so far, none of them have answered, despite the fact that at least one of them saw his message, as the little number next to it decreased from 4 to 3. As he waits, he goes on his YouTube account, thinking he could try to keep himself busy by answering some comments. But reading all the ones telling him this week's video's quality is a lot less better than usual brought his mood even deeper down.

He groans as he let his head fall on his arms crossed on top of the desk.

"Fuck my life," he grumbles, eyes closed before letting a defeated sigh brush past his lips.

He doesn't really know how long he stays in this position, considering his options. He had already thought about crashing in a practice room, since the school let students use the university practice rooms after regular opening hours. He could've pretended he needed it to actually practice, even if he wanted nothing more than to sleep, right now. But he had to submit an Overnight Practice Room Use Form to the Administrative Office of the school, and since it was already 6:30pm, on a Friday night, he rejected that idea, knowing the school's staff working at this office would most likely already be gone for the weekend.

The room is completely silent, except for the soft whistling of the computer's fan, so Kyungsoo flinches when he hears a little thump against the desk.  
He takes a few seconds to lift his head and look to his right, before blinking confusedly at the steaming Starbucks cup resting on the wooden surface, next to his elbow. He gives a puzzled look around him, still curled up on the desk, but finds no one in sight. Looking back at the paper cup, he notices the edge of a yellow post-it stuck on its side, so he straightened his upper body up before reaching out and rotating the cup.

The sticky note isn't signed, but Kyungsoo recognizes the neat handwriting right away.

        " _Peace offering ?_

_White chocolate mocha with an extra_ _  
_espresso shot and whipped cream__."

A small and tired smile comes stretching his lips as he grabs the cup and brings it to his lips. He has just swallowed his first mouthful of the comforting sweet drink when he sees a puff of black hair poking out from the door frame.

"You can come in, you know," he sighs drowsily.

Baekhyun's anxious face slowly comes into view from his hiding spot, before the young man carefully steps into the room, each step clearly hesitant as he silently walks towards Kyungsoo.

The red-haired male gives a little head motion, pointing to the chair next to him with his chin, before he takes another gulp of his hot drink. Baekhyun cautiously sits, still silent and nervously watching his best friend.

"Thanks," Kyungsoo breathes out, eyes still focused on the steaming cup and he sees Baekhyun nod.

They both remain silent for a while, Kyungsoo slowly sipping his white chocolate mocha and Baekhyun picking at the skin around his thumb nail with his fingers.

When the Composition major finally looks up, he catches his best friend eyes quickly looking away from his face. The stiff atmosphere surrounding them is tiring Kyungsoo even more than he already is. And since the older boy looks too uncomfortable to say anything, he guesses he will have to start the conversation himself.

"Baek..." he softly says, "It's okay. I'm not mad anymore."

Baekhyun then looks up, a hopeful expression on his face. He opens his mouth, only to close it right after as he starts biting on his lower lips, gaze wandering around.  
Kyungsoo lightly nudges his knee against his best friend's thigh to convince the boy to look back at him.

"It's okay," he repeats, tone even softer.

When finally, Baekhyun lift up his head and look at Kyungsoo, the red-haired male feels a heavy wave of guilt flooding his chest. His best friend's face looks so troubled that he can't help but curse himself for being such a resentful stubborn asshole.

"I'm sorry," he says, a little chuckle exiting his lips right after when he hears Baekhyun blurting the exact same words  at the exact same moment, "I shouldn't have snapped at you on the phone. Or  avoided you this whole week," he adds.

"No, you were right. I deserved it," Baekhyun sadly smiles, "Ok, look, I'm just gonna say it, and you better listen carefully, ‘cause I won't say it again... Ever," he sighs, looking embarrassed.

Kyungsoo nods and Baekhyun takes a deep breath.

"I...uhm...Okay, I- I really care about you. You're my best friend. I know I'm always fooling around and calling you names and annoying you to no end and just...overall being a dick and a pain in the ass. But...you're really one of the closest and most important person I have in my life. And I just- I want you to be happy, you know. And even if it's not an excuse, I was kinda drunk, and I didn't really think about it when I sent that video. I was just...trying to help. Or at least I thought it would help at that moment. Cause, you know, you admitted you find him cute and-..." Baekhyun stops for a second to shake his head as Kyungsoo glares at him, "Don't look at me like that, I told you it'll be the last time I'm saying any of this," he quickly utters, "By the way, if the nugget made fun of you, just tell me and I'll go all Liam Neeson on him, Taken style. I will look for him, I will find him, and I will kill him. Or kick him, at least. Anyway, yeah. At that time it seemed like a good idea. But it wasn't. It was fucking stupid. And I'm really sorry. I mean, I'm not saying I won't be an idiot ever again, ‘cause that would be _highly_ unrealistic, let's be honest. But I won't interfere in this kind of things anymore, you have my word. So...could you please consider forgiving me, just this once ? Cause I feel like shit, and it seriously sucks not to be able to talk to my best friend..." the older male ends, his lips tilted in a side pout and his eyes looking down.

They both stay silent for a few seconds, before Kyungsoo finally answers.

"Well...I feel like crap too, if that can comfort you," he starts, nudging his best friend's thigh once again and offering him a smile when the boy looks up, "And I'm sorry too. It wasn't fair to you, I shouldn't have gotten mad. Or at least not _that_ mad."

"It's okay..." Baekhyun answers, shyly smiling back, "So...we're good ?"

"We're good," Kyungsoo nods.

"No more avoiding ?"

"No more avoiding."

"Cool. So uhm...did any of the guys replied or are you gonna have to sleep on a bench tonight ?" the raven-haired male asks, pointing at the computer with his chin.

"Nope," The younger says after checking, "Wait, how did you..."

"You asked them in our kakao group chat. I'm in it, remember?"

"Oh."

"Yup. Actually, I saw you limping around like a zombie today. And you also weren't in line at the coffee machine after lunch so... I figure out that you skipping coffee break meant some serious shit must've happened."

"Yeah, life happened," Kyungsoo snorts.

"Wanna talk about it ?"

"Not really..."

"Alright. What were you doing ?" the Film Making major questions, turning his eyes to the computer screen, clearly trying to change the subject to remove the grumpy expression on his best friend's face.

"Going through the latest comments on my last video," Kyungsoo sighs, hesitantly eyeing Baekhyun.

"Oh… Uhm- what are they thinking about it ?" the older male asks, shifting on his chair, looking uncomfortable since it sort of brings back their argument on the spotlight.

"Most of them noticed the video didn't have your little magic touch in it. They've been asking about you in the comments," the composition major replies, scratching his nape as guilt squeezes his stomach.

"Who helped you recording it ?" Baekhyun shyly inquires.

"Heeyeon Noona. She did her best and it came out okay, but she had no idea what she was doing, to be honest."

"The shots were nice, though."

Kyungsoo nods as he closes every opened window on the screen before shutting down the computer and slumping in chair.

"Okay, so, listen... What about we go to my room, I'll give you some clothes so you can change out of those wet jeans. And we could go out after that. Just you and me. Let's go to a bar and have a few drinks, like in the old time, when you first arrived at K-arts, uh ?" Baekhyun smiles, looking hopeful.

"I don't know..."

"Come on ! You don't have anything to do anyway. Your resentful ass had already canceled tonight's little gathering on Wednesday," the older male tentatively jokes.

"Uhm yeah...sorry about that."

"It's alright, don't worry. You can crash at my place after that and we'll go fetch your keys tomorrow morning. What do you say ?"

"Okay," Kyungsoo finally agrees, "But I swear to god Baek, if you bring up again that I-"

"I won't, I promised, remember ?" his best friend cuts him.

"Fine, then."

"Cool. I already called my roommate to ask him if it was okay for you to stay in our room."

"How did you know I was gonna say yes ?"

"I didn't," Baekhyun shrugs, "I was just hoping you would. He said he was going out anyway. You know, I think he has a crush on you. He was weirdly excited about letting you sleep in his bed..."

"Ew..."

"Yeah. Well, you can sleep in my bed and I'll take his, if you want," The raven-haired male offers, standing up and slipping his backpack on his shoulder, "Let's go ?"

Kyungsoo starts doing the same but falls back down on his chair, hissing as he feels a sharp pain running through his ankle, the sound catching his best friend attention.

"Okay, maybe we could go get that leg checked in the infirmary first, uh ? The nurse should have some magic stuff she gives to the dance majors when they're injured. Come on," Baekhyun finishes, reaching his hand out for Kyungsoo to grab so he won't have to put his whole body weight on his ankle.

"Baek..." Kyungsoo calls once he has stood up, waiting for the boy to look back at him, "Thanks... For the coffee," he says, chewing the inside of his cheek.

Baekhyun slowly smiles at him and Kyungsoo knows he understood the red-haired male isn't only thanking him for the hot drink. He knows Baekhyun can see in his eyes what he really means.

_Thank you for caring. Thank you for helping me whenever I need it, even when I'm too stubborn to ask. Thank you for putting up with me. Thank you for being here even when I'm having a crappy day. Thank you for coming back around even when I'm an asshole._

And his best friend's smile is comforting when he nods, winks and replies :

"Yeah, anytime."

  
♪♫

 

It is half past three in the morning when Kyungsoo, comfortably tucked under the thick blanket of Baekhyun's single bed, reaches for his phone and unlocks it. Like he often does right before sleeping, he spends a few minutes lazily scrolling down on Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram, waiting for his eyelids to become too heavy to keep them open.

As he opens his private messages on Instagram, he notices the most recent one has been sent by a certain dancer, about an hour ago. He taps on his username to open the conversation, nervous to read what the younger boy has replied. But apparently, his brother was right to tell him there was no reason to be worried.

  
**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Hahaahha dont worry hyung, its okay !! It was cute anywayy :D_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_And I KNEW u could dance :P !_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Here as a fair tradz xD it'll deeeefinitely help you being less em,barrassed :P !_

  
Kyungsoo frowns at all the typos but grabs his earphones and put them on, before his finger taps his phone screen, and the video right under that last message starts playing.  
He lifts an eyebrow as he watches Jongin and another boy side by side in a dark room filled with kaleidoscopic lights swirling on their faces. Mics in hand and clearly drunk, Kyungsoo hears them cheekily singing a few words and he recognizes the song right away. His eyes open wide when he realizes they're about to attempt reaching IU's Good day's famous three high notes.

He can't help but silently laugh – trying not to wake Baekhyun up – when he hears their voices badly cracking as the two boys scream their lungs out, notes dramatically off tune, sounding more like sick foxes howling into the night, before they both burst into hysterical laughter echoing in the karaoke room. A third laugh can be heard, probably belonging to the man holding the phone and recording their performance and Kyungsoo shakes his head, unable to stop smiling as he watches Jongin throw his head back, giggling uncontrollably. _It's cute_ , Kyungsoo thinks.

He replays it once, then twice and still ends up chuckling at the end, kind of thrown back by the fact that the boy didn't seem to mind sending him such a compromising video and surprised that, just as Kai said, the little clip actually soothes his own embarrassment.

Without even thinking about it, he starts typing.

  
**melod.ous**  
_wow... that was...unexpected_

**melod.ous**  
_I'm not sure there is any existing word to properly describe what I just watched_

  
He's thinking about what else to say when his messages suddenly go from Unseen to Seen, right before a few words pop up under his own. And once again, he can help but chuckles, seeing the typo-filled messages, clearly stating the drunkenness level of the younger man.  


**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Inknow right? xD my singing skiills are truuuuuly outstandnig!_

**melod.ous**  
_it looks like you're having a lot of fun, that's what matters, right ?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Imma pretend Im too drunk to undrstand u're impl,ying I sounded lik shit xD_

**melod.ous**  
_well I would've said more like a dying whale tbh_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_yeah that wrorks too I guess :P_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_doyou feel better bout it ?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_I asked my friend to rcord us so I coudl se,dn it to tyou_

**melod.ous**  
_yeah I do actually_

**melod.ous**  
_thank you_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_u're weclom\o/_

  
Another little laugh escapes Kyungsoo's lips as he reads Kai's answer out loud. The drunken boy is just so fluffily cute.

  
**melod.ous**  
_are you still at the noraebang ?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_nah Im home in ,my bed now_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Im cooooold >_<_

  
Chuckle. Again.

  
**melod.ous**  
_grab another blanket ?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Ialready & have 3!!!!_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Imma do some pushups to wamr up_

**melod.ous**  
_what ??_

  
No reply. Kyungsoo waits, wondering if the boy is seriously doing some pushups right now. With all that alcohol in his system, that might not be the best idea.  
Just as this thought enters his mind, a new message appears on the screen.

  
**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_omg that was a bAD IDEA_

  
Kyungsoo quickly covers his mouth with his free hand to muffle the spontaneous loud laugh he couldn’t repress, before giving a brief look on his left to check if Baekhyun woke up because of him, reassured when he sees the older boy is still evenly breathing in his roommate's bed. When he looks back at his phone, another message has already popped up.

  
**kimkaaaaaai**  
_Ikinda wanna throw up rifght now D:_

**kimkaaaaaai**  
_I think I shoudjl sleep_

**melod.ous**  
_yeah you should !_

**kimkaaaaaai**  
_iM still on the floor_

**kimkaaaaaai**  
_how do I( get up_

**melod.ous**  
_very slowly !!_

**melod.ous**  
_be careful O_O !_

  
Once again, Kyungsoo has to wait before Kai finally writes back.

  
**kimkaaaaaai**  
_ok Imgood :D_

**kimkaaaaaai**  
_gomma sleep now_

**kimkaaaaaai**  
_tsalk to you later /?_

**melod.ous**  
_sure, rest well !_

**kimkaaaaaai**  
_yay byyyyyyuyye\o/_

**melod.ous**  
_bye xD_

  
And Kyungsoo blinks a few times, looking at his glowing screen.

How the fuck did he end up sending emojis...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you must all be frustrated they still haven't met. But remember that, even if it IS a KaiSoo fic, it is still Kyungsoo centered ! So Jongin will slowly come around when it's the right time.
> 
> Anyway, so, yup, Smiling-Stranger wasn't Jongin !  
> But think about it LOGICALLY, if it had been Jongin, Junmyeon wouldn't have been so secretive about it, since he KNOWS about the whole fanwar thing ! If he had indeed met Jongin because of Eunji, he would've told Kyungsoo and the other boys way before that night !  
> And by the way, Hyunsik has always said his favorite food were sushis AND chicken !! You can google it !


	7. Chapter 7

During the two following weeks, Kyungsoo spends every single minute of his free time studying and rehearsing, either at the university, using the library and instruments rooms, or in his apartment, absorbing as much knowledge as his brain allows. By the time the 17th of October arrives, launching the Midterm Examination week, his sleeping schedule is completely messed up, his fingertips are bruised and raw and his YouTube channel's inbox is filled with messages of protests due to his temporary hiatus.

Each day passes in a blur of pencils scratching furiously against paper, instruments playing melodies perfected by hours and hours of practice, five minutes naps between two exams, dozens of cups of coffee, a hundred sighs and just as much tired groans.

When Kyungsoo exits the performance hall on Friday afternoon, he allows himself to lift his arms above his head, fists pointing to the sky and head tilted back, celebrating the end of the stressful midterm week. One of his classmates throws an arm on his shoulders and mimics Kyungsoo's move with his free hand.

"I swear I'm gonna spend the whole weekend in my bed !" Hyunseong happily sighs.

"Same," Kyungsoo replies as they walk away, "My brain isn't even functioning properly anymore," he adds with a chuckle.

"Dude, I almost fell asleep during the English test yesterday."

"I think I messed up a few questions on that one. My vision was all blurry and shit," the red-haired male admits, shaking his head.

"But now we're done !" Hyunseong answers before he turns around and starts moonwalking, bringing an amused laugh out of Kyungsoo's lips, "No more stress ! At least, until they give us the results..." he finishes, abruptly stopping, an annoyed expression stretching his face.

"Yeah, I need to do some calculation to estimate how bad this is gonna be !" Kyungsoo chuckles.

Hyunseong briefly checks around them to make sure their teacher wasn't among the classmates walking out of their last exam.

"Mrs. Kim was still glaring at you during the whole time you were performing your piece," he comically winces.

"I _know_. I think she'll be mad at me forever."

"You never told me what you did to make her so upset, though. She's usually strict, but the way she looks at you... Did you break one of her precious Gayageums ?"

"Nope. She just happened to walk by the practice room while I was playing," Kyungsoo snorts, shaking his head, "Next thing I knew, she was yelling at me for, quote, " _blaspheming the pure art of playing the Gayageum with_ my _perverted rock music_ "," Kyungsoo adds, imitating the old lady's yelling voice.

"Holy shit !" Hyunseong  laughs, "Were you playing some Led Zeppelin or what ?"

"Close," Kyungsoo grins, "AC/DC's Back in Black."

"Holy shit !!" the younger male repeats.

"Even had Brian Johnson's voice running on speakers while I was playing."

"Fuck ! No wonder why she's still so pissed off !" Hyunseong comments, laughing even louder.

"I've been on top of her people-to-kill-asap list since then."

"So _that_ 's why she's always on your back even when you don't even do anything wrong..."

"Yup !" the red-haired nods, making a popping sound as he pronounces the P.

"Tough luck that she was our teacher every year."

"I already started praying to be in Mr. Min's class next year. If I have to go through another year with her snapping at me to shut up every class, even when I'm obviously not the one chatting, I think I actually might end up smashing one of her instruments. On her head, preferably," Kyungsoo grumbles, giving Hyunseong a pointed look.

"I'll help you hide the body if it goes that far," the younger promises with a solemn expression, giving Kyungsoo's shoulder a few pats.

His classmate waves him goodbye a few minutes later as Kyungsoo keeps walking toward the other side of the campus. Baekhyun should be done with his last test too by the time he gets there.

He has just passed the dormitories building when he hears someone calling his name from the entrance. A rapid glance to his right has him rolling his eyes and speeding up his pace.

"Kyungsoo ! Wait !"

A few seconds later, Hyunsik is walking by his side.

"What do you want ?" Kyungsoo asks, his eyes resolutely looking in front of him

"Wow, so much enthusiasm," his ex answers with a little laugh, "Where are you going ?"

"I'm gonna pick Baekhyun up so we can go out," the red-haired male briefly replies with an even tone, hoping Hyunsik will just stop following him.

"You two are still attached by the hips, uh ?" the boy chuckles, "You know, I was quite jealous of him back when we were dating."

Kyungsoo sighs. Some people never change.

"That's because you obviously don't get the concept of friendship," he comments, not even trying to avoid showing how annoyed he is.

"Well, why don't you try helping me with that ? Maybe we could be friends again ?"

"We were never really friends to begin with," Kyungsoo mocks.

"Then we could start from now on !" the boy insists.

Kyungsoo abruptly stops walking and turns to his right to face his ex-boyfriend.

"No, we can't," he firmly says, "Why are you even here ?"

"Because I saw you walking and I wanted to talk to you ?" Hyunsik answers, as if it was quite obvious.

"No I mean, here in this school ! Did you know I was studying here ?"

"Wow, get back down on earth, honey. The whole world doesn't revolve around you. "

"I know that, thank you," Kyungsoo sighs, rolling his eyes, "Why are you here then ? Junmyeon told me where you were studying before. Isn't your grandfather the president of your previous school ? Why would you even get transferred ?"

"Curious, uh ?" the boy smirks, wiggling an eyebrow.

"Cut the crap, Hyunsik," Kyungsoo snaps, "How did you even know I was studying here ?"

"I didn't, it was a pure coincidence," the taller boy shrugs.

"You know I don't believe in coincidences."

"Then maybe it's a sign."

"I take it back. I think I liked the coincidence theory better," Kyungsoo mumbles, closing his eyes for a few seconds and pressing his fingers against his temples before Hyunsik is speaking again.

"Alright. I admit it. I knew you were studying here because Eunji mentioned you. And that might have been a factor in the final decision. But I wanted to study here anyway. You being there was just a point in favor of choosing this school when I made my list of pros and cons."

Kyungsoo stays silent as he stares at his ex-boyfriend. He takes a deep breath before exhaling loudly, gritting his teeth.

"Okay, listen," he starts, his jaw tensing, "I don't _want_ to be friend with you. I think I made that clear enough when we broke up-"

"When _you_ broke up with me," the boy cuts him with a snort.

"Exactly ! When _I_ broke up with you. Doesn't it speak for itself ?"

"I'm quite persistent, you know."

The taller smirks _again_. And Kyungsoo is so fed up with the cocky attitude.

"Oh trust me, I know ! I had to change my phone number so you'd stop calling and texting me !" he spits.

"Yeah that wasn't very nice, by the way," his ex-boyfriend has the audacity of looking smug as he says that.

"For fuck's sake, Hyunsik !" the red-haired male shouts angrily, clearly infuriated by the other man's attitude.

"What's going on ? Oh, hey Hyunsik !" a familiar voice says from the side.

Kyungsoo's hands are balled into fists when he snaps his head to see Baekhyun approaching them. He hears Hyunsik greeting his best friend back, but before any of them has the time to say anything more, he speaks up.

"Nothing's going on. We're done," he answers, then he turns his eyes back to his ex-boyfriend, "Seriously Hyunsik, grow up and move on. Come on Baek, let's go, we're gonna be late," he ends after taking two steps in Baekhyun's direction, grabbing the boy's elbow tightly and starting to walk away, tugging the raven-haired male with him.

"See you later, Kyungsoo !" he hears Hyunsik chuckle behind them.

"What exactly are we gonna be late for ?" Baekhyun asks, a puzzled expression painted on his face as he takes a look over his shoulder to see Hyunsik waving at them with an amused smile.

"Please, just keep walking," Kyungsoo huffs, shaking his head.

"Okay..." the Film Making major nods, deciding to just go with the flow if it helps his best friend, "So, how did your Gayageum exam go ?" he asks, smirking, fully aware of the grudge the teacher is holding against the red-haired male.

He then laughs loudly at his successful attempt to divert the younger boy's mind when he hears Kyungsoo releasing a half groan, half whine as they keep walking side by side.

  
♪♫

  
If you ask Kyungsoo, he would tell you some moms have that strange power of always calling at the wrong moment. His own mother definitely has it. It seems she can feel when he is running late for class or when he is about to head out to meet his friends, and she purposefully chooses that exact moment to call him – sometimes even on his apartment landline phone, _of course_ , so he has no other choice then pace in his living room while talking to her. Most of the time, she just wants to tell him about stuff that could clearly wait, like how the grocery store cashier gave her too much change that morning, or how she thinks about buying that new smoothie maker that was advertised on TV.  
Kyungsoo would also tell you these calls are the absolute proof he is probably the best son ever. Because no matter how much he wants to sigh and tell her he _can’t talk right now, mom !_ , he doesn’t. Instead, he hums at the appropriate moments, and patiently answers to whatever trivial subjects she babbles about.  
He ends up being late, yes. But he deems it worth it when he hears his mom’s voice telling him she loves him and she was happy talking to him.

Today makes no exception, and surely, as he kneads the freshly mixed dough in his bowl, the ringtone he set for his mother starts ringing, echoing in his tiny kitchen and startling him and Baekhyun, who squeals as he loses his grip on a plate and washing soap flies all over his white sweater.

Without no other option, as the call is one ring away from getting sent on the voicemail, Kyungsoo bends his back towards his phone lying on the counter in front of him and uses his nose to swipe the screen and answer the call.

"Hold on a second, mom !" he says when he already hears her voice starting to talk.

For the next seconds, he feels like a perfect idiot, bobbing his head above his phone – freaking device keeps sliding on the counter – until he finally manages to press the speaker icon with his nose tip.

" Okay good, hi mom !"

"Hey Sweetheart. Is it a bad time to call ?” she asks in her usual joyful tone.

"No, don’t worry," Kyungsoo answers quickly, "I’m in the kitchen with Baekhyun."

"Good afternoon Ilhwa-ssi !" said boys greats loudly from the sink, smiling brightly as Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and his mom’s amused laughter comes out of the tiny speaker.

"Hi Baekhyunnie ! How are you boys ?"   
  
"We’re good now that midterms are over !" the Film Making major chants.

"Oh right ! How did you do ?" she asks.

Kyungsoo is actually glad his mom can’t see their scrunched faces right now.

"Not bad, I think. I may have messed up a bit in my German exam. The Score Reading one was pretty difficult too, and weird. But it should be okay," he ends with a shrug.

"Good, good. I’m sure you did better than you think, Sweetheart, as usual."

The red-haired male chooses to ignore the loud snort his best friend lets out.

"We’ll see. So...did you call for anything particular ?"

"Can’t I call to talk to my son without any reason ?" she fakely scolds.

"Of course you can, mom," he chuckles.

"Then what ? Don’t you wanna chat with your lovely mom ?"

"What a bad son, right ?" Baekhyun joins feigning to be as offended as she pretends to be, still having to talk louder than normal to make sure he’s heard.

"You two need to stop teaming up against me, seriously !" Kyungsoo replies, shaking his head.

"What is the problem then ?" his mom asks, now playing the super-sad-cause-my-own-flesh-and-blood-doesn’t-want-to-talk-to-me role.

"There is no problem ! We’re just-, I mean our _hands_ are a little busy right now, that’s all."

A few seconds of silence follow the end of his sentence.

"Sweet Lord !" his moms suddenly blurts in a high-pitched voice, "Doesn’t Baekhyunnie have a girlfriend ? Am I interrupting an intimate moment ? Why didn’t you say so when I asked if it was a bad time ! Oh Jesus !"

It only takes a moment before his best friend bursts out laughing as the words make sense in Kyungsoo’s brain.

"Oh my god mom !" he shouts, eyes wide open looking at his phone, "We’re baking ! I'm hands down into cookie dough and Baekhyun has dishwashing soap up to his elbows !"

A light melodic laugh coming out of the phone answers him.

"And trust me, even if he was the last man on earth, I still wouldn’t go for him !" Kyungsoo claims.

The little offended “Hey !" that Baekhyun cries out is covered by her curious voice.

"Really ? Didn’t you two boys kiss once ?"

Kyungsoo’s features distorts in horror as his upper body turns to look behind him, mouthing a “Did you tell her ?" to an equally shocked Baekhyun who only shakes his head no.  
As he faces his mixing bowl again, a groan passes his lips.

"I’m gonna kill Seungsoo," he mumbles, figuring out his older brother must have spilled the bean.

Why did he even tell him about that ?

Once again, the chuckles his mother lets out only serves as a reminder and an actual proof she likes messing with him whenever she can.

"Speaking about your brother ! You’ll be coming home for Christmas, right Sweetheart ? Seungsoo asked for a few days off work to come back too. He called me earlier this week to tell me he wanted us to meet someone."

"Oh, that sounds awfully official !" Kyungsoo smiles, already knowing the details but keeping his mouth shut as he promised his brother he would.

"I think so too ! He never introduced us to any of his past lovers, so it must be serious this time !" she rambles, sounding excited.

Kyungsoo quickly winks at Baekhyun, who knows about the whole _intern/girlfriend_ thing.

"I’ll be here. I wanna meet that mysterious girl !"

It’s technically not a lie. Even if he already saw and talked to Jiyeon during a couple of video calls with his brother, he never actually _met_ her. At least that’s what he tells himself to ease the guilt of hiding something from his mom.

"Perfect ! It’s been a while since I had you both here at the same time !" she answers in a tender voice. "You can bring someone too, you know !"

Before Kyungsoo even has the time to answer, Baekhyun pops into the conversation once again.

"Yeah Kyungsoo, bring the nugget !"

Don’t blame the red-haired boy for throwing a little bit of cookie dough right at his best friend’s face the next second. He deserves it. He promised he wouldn’t bring Kai up as a potential...date, crush interest or whatever.

"Shut the fuck up !" he whisper-shouts.

"Kyungsoo, language," His mom scolds.

"Sorry."

"And who is this nugget exactly ? I supposed it’s a nickname ?"

"Nobody. It’s _nobody_. Don’t listen to that idiot."

"Do you have a boyfriend, Sweetheart ?" she investigates, her voice sounding way too excited for Kyungsoo’s taste.

"No mom, I don't. Baekhyun is just imagining things," he sighs, turning his head to glare at said boy.

"I'm not, though !" his best friends singsongs, having to dodge again to avoid the second little ball of dough flying towards him.

"Alright, alright, be nice Kyungsoo," the woman scold with a laugh after hearing Baekhyun’s shriek, "I’ll let you two have fun baking. You keep Baekhyunnie away from the knives, okay ? I know about his cooking skills, and it's a lot less easy to play piano with only nine fingers !"

"I will," the Composition major chuckles.

"Good. You boys stay out of trouble, alright ?"

Now that she is done messing with him, her motherly tone has made a comeback.

"Don't worry, I'm a lot less impressionable now," Kyungsoo reassures, a smile stretching his lips.

"Excuse me, do I need to remind you _who_ got us both stuck in detention a fair amount of times back in middle school ?" Baekhyun interjects with a stupefied laugh.

"It was _your_ idea every time, though," Kyungsoo deadpans.

"But they were just that ! _Ideas_ ! I never told you to _actually_ to empty a bean bag chair inside our math teacher’s car..."

"I remember you being the one who provided said bean bag chair."

"Yeah, and I also remember Baekbeom chasing me inside the house when he found out I had taken it from his room."

"Boys, stop arguing like a married couple, will you ? I have to go. I need to drive to the grocery store. Your dad asked me if we could have chicken for dinner since he heard me talking about nuggets earlier."

"Okay, drive safely, mom."

"Your fried chicken is the best, Ilhwa-ssi ! Please cook me some next time I come over !" his best friend shouts to be sure the woman hears him.

"Stop begging her for food ! Ask your own mom !"

"We all know who my disastrous cooking skills are coming from, so I’d rather ask your mom, thanks."

"I will Baekhyunnie, I will," she giggles, "Have a nice evening, boys."

"Bye mom. Say hi to dad for me. Love you !"

"I love you too Sweetheart. You too, Baekhyunnie !"

"Bye Mrs. Do !"

Kyungsoo’s mom ends the phone call then, saving her son the trouble of having to use his nose again.

"See ? I told you your mom is totally crushing on me !" Baekhyun teases, going back to washing the dishes.

And this time, he doesn’t see the ball of cookie dough gliding in the air before it hits the back of his head.

  
♪♫

  
November brings cold swirls of dry wind, pushing Kyungsoo to exchange his trusty leather jacket against a cozy midnight blue coat.  
On that Wednesday, the temperature dropped near to 0°C and he is more than happy to be home early, due to his Score Reading class’ teacher calling in sick. He takes off the extra layer of clothes, untangling his white scarf from the mess the wind had created around his neck and goes straight to his kitchen to make himself a cup of well-deserved hot coffee.

Once he has his mug secured in his hands and he has cursed himself once again for asking the hairstylist to re-do the sidecuts when he went to re-dye his hair red, leading the way to his ears to freely turn into ice blocks, he plops down on his couch, grabbing the TV remote to turn the device on and changing the channel until he founds some random documentary he can chill in front of.

Kyungsoo knows he should use this extra free time to be productive, but it’s not every day a three hours long lecture is cancelled. So mind your own business, he is cold, and for once he just wants to get comfortable and watch something that doesn’t require his brain to fully function. He’ll finish editing this week’s video later in the evening.

An hour later, just as the screens shows a pack of killer whales surrounding a probably-soon-to-be-eaten seal, his phones text message ringtone startles him. He grabs it and unlock it after reading Baekhyun’s contact name.

  
From : **Annoying Bunny**  
4:18pm-  
_Hey mate whatcha doin’ ?_

To : **Annoying Bunny**  
4:19pm-  
_mate ? I’m home just chilling in front of the tv. class got cancelled_

From : **Annoying Bunny**  
4:21pm-  
_Lucky bastard. I’m turning into an iceman out here waiting for my next class. Can’t feel my toes anymore !!!_

To : **Annoying Bunny**  
4:23pm-  
_RIP_

From : **Annoying Bunny**  
4:25pm-  
_Your obvious empathy is warming me up. Do something u lil shit -.-‘ ! My class starts at 5pm !_

To : **Annoying Bunny**  
4:26pm-  
_what am I supposed to do ?_

From : **Annoying Bunny**  
4:27pm-  
_IDK ! SAVE ME ! ENTERTAIN ME WHILE I FREEZE TO DEATH !_

  
Kyungsoo shakes his head, a smile playing on his lips. He does feel a little bad for his best friend, but it’s also said friend’s fault for choosing fashion over warmth and sticking to his denim jacket.

  
To : **Annoying Bunny**  
4:29pm-  
_okay what do u want me to do ?_

From : **Annoying Bunny**  
5:29pm-  
_IG livestream !_

To : **Annoying Bunny**  
5:30pm-  
_what ? wtf why ?_

From : **Annoying Bunny**  
4:31pm-  
_It’ll keep me busy so I won’t notice when I die_

To : **Annoying Bunny**  
4:32pm-  
_wouldn’t a video call do ?_

From : **Annoying Bunny**  
4:33pm-  
_Nah I wanna entertain myself reading the comments u get_

To : **Annoying Bunny**  
4:34pm-  
_u’re annoying. I don’t want to._

From : **Annoying Bunny**  
4:35pm-  
_Meanie :’(_

Kyungsoo sighs and exits the text message app, turning on his front camera to take a quick selfie. A black and white filter later, he posts it on his Instagram account, followed with the caption " _Hey guys ! It’s cold today ! Should I livestream to warm your hearts up ? #savingthebunnyfromfreezing_ ".

It doesn’t even take a full minute before a tidal wave of " _OMG YES_ " and other " _please warm me up~_ " comments are flooding the comment section. He even spots Baekhyun in there with his " _Save me D.O oppa~_ ‘ㅅ’ _!_ ".

  
From : **Annoying Bunny**  
4:42pm-  
_You’re the best !_

To : **Annoying Bunny**  
4:43pm-  
_I’d be bored if you died tbh_

  
With an exaggerated groan the Composition major stands up and sets up an improvised tower with books on his coffee table, his glasses case on top of it. He makes a quick trip to his music room to grab his acoustic guitar and comes back, sitting down again on his couch and popping his phone against the case, making sure he’s framed correctly from his spot.

It would’ve probably been easier and less wobbly to set his tripod up but today is a lazy day so this will have to do.

A few minutes after, and a new mug of coffee strategically placed beside the book tower, his face is mirroring his action on his phone’s screen.

Right away, he can see the names of dozens of people popping up on the bottom of the screen as they join the stream, comments flooding in between, making it impossible for him to catch every single one of them.

  
**thspnx-teaspoon** _Oppa you’re finally streaming again ! I’m so happy !_

**blackshadowofthedoom** _< 3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3_

**tasty.tomatoe** _OPPA URE SO HANDSOME I LOVE YOU_

**fuzzy-ice-cream007** _Hello from Finland <3 !_

**tiger-pox** _what time is it for you oppa ?_

**caramelneard** _d.o stream best bday present EVERRRRRRR !!!!!!!!_

**musikizmylyfe** _SAY HI TO YOUR BRAZILIAN FANS :) ???_

**limb-designer_-_** _what song did you cover for this week’s video ???? CAN’T WAIT TO WATCH IT_

**unicorn.x.captain** _Hi oppa~ I hope you stay warm ! Don’t catch a cold !_

**sunflower56745** _WOW ILY SO MUCH_

**ashashton-and-the-sock** _arE YoU And Kai hyunG FRIENds ?????_

**h0ld-0nt0-m3** _OPPA HI FROM RUSSIA_

  
As the comments go at lighting speed, Kyungsoo waves at his phone.

"Hey everyone ! How are you guys doing ? It’s been a couple of months since I last did a livestream, right ? Are you guys happy that I’m finally doing one now ?" the red-haired boy chuckles, "Can you all see me and hear me correctly ?"

Squinting a little, Kyungsoo tries his best to read the comments before they disappear.

"Okay, apparently sound and image are good ! Let’s all take a minute to pray that my phone won’t fall during the stream ! It’s currently set up on top of a very precarious tower made out book. If you suddenly hear me scream and your screen goes black...well then you’ll have to send another prayer for my dead phone. And for me too, cause my banker won’t be happy if I have to buy another one !" he ends with a funny face.  


**singinginthenight** _*prays*_

**pinks-and-reds** _omg be careful oppa xD_

**silenthawk** _I’m sending a prayer ! don’t fall phone ! DON’T FALL_

**ashashton-and-the-socks** _do You know KaI hyuNG IN REAl life ????????_

**lemonlemonlemonade** _I’m a banker ! I can be yours so you’ll have unlimited money on your account haha !_

**deb-dab06** _where’s Baekhyun oppa ?_

**cereals8740** _poor phone :3_

  
"Yes exactly, please phone, don’t fall ! _Lemonlemonlemonade_ , please be my banker then !" he laughs. "You must love lemons a lot ! “ _Where’s Baekhyun ?_ ”, mmh, he must still be waiting for his next class to start ?" he says after checking his watch, "I think he’s actually here watching the stream ? If he didn’t die from the cold... He’s the one who suggested I streamed."

  
**deb-dab06** _OMG no don’t die Baekhyun oppa !_

**wizardofparis** _hahahah poor Baekhyun_

**d.o.manly.hands** _thank u Baekhyun for suggesting it !!!!!!!!!_

**bunnybyunbaek** _I’M HERE_

**bunnybyunbaek** _I’M HERE_

**_blah_blah_bleehh_** _phone don’t fall !_

**bunnybyunbaek** _I’M HERE_

**sprinkle_topping** _he’s alive :D !_

**deb-dab06** _Baekhyun oppa !!!!!!_

**bunnybyunbaek** _YES I’M ALIVE_

**bunnybyunbaek** _I’M HERE NOTICE ME OPPAAAAAAAAAA_

**onfvv_k34bi** _kkkkkkkkk xD_

**ashashton-and-the-socks** _HAVe YOU EveR Met kAi ?????????_

  
"Well unfortunately, he seems to be alive !" Kyungsoo sighs, shaking his head with a fake saddened expression. 

After a few minutes interacting with his followers and answering questions, he asks them if they’d like to hear him play some songs. A wave of positive responses later, he stops looking at his screen to grab his guitar, making sure it’s still properly tuned before strumming a couple of chords until he deems it perfect enough.

  
**bunnybyunbaek** _WOAH A VIP CONCERT ! OPPA YOU’RE AWESOME !_

**water.is.for.the.weaks** _Baekhyun oppa is crazy today xD_

**chicken-mc-nuggets-babies** _d.o oppa I love you you’re the best_

**ashashton-and-the-socks** _omg omG OMG OMG OmG WAit_

**ashashton-and-the-socks** _IS This Real ????_

**bunnybyunbaek** _NUGGET_

**pinks-and-reds** _yes please a song !!!!_

**caramelnerd** _CAN YOU SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR ME PLEASE ?_

**ashashton-and-the-socks** _OH.MY.GOD.HE'S.HERE_

**thspnx-teaspoon** _CAN YOU SING A ONE DIRECTION SONG ???????????_

**dolly_goat.19** _BEYONCE SONG PLS PLS PLSPLSPLS /begs/_

  
The Composition major has to control himself from glaring at his phone when Baekhyun’s comment pops up, deciding to let it slide. Lost in the mass of comments and the notifications of new people joining the stream, nobody will understand what – or _who_ – he is referring to. Kyungsoo himself doesn’t get why his best friend decided to capitalize that stupid nickname in his comment. But if he is honest, he stopped trying to understand Baekhyun’s actions a long time ago.

"Okay, let me think. How about...a Phil Collins’ song to start ? Would you guys like that ? I think I’ve read a few times in YouTube comments there were some fans of him among you, right ?"

Once again, enthusiastic comments answer him, and Kyungsoo begins playing the song he had in mind. He keeps singing after that, fingers smoothly sliding on the strings, alternating old and more recent songs, ending with a final strumming of his chords echoing in the air, smiling at his phone.

"Ta-da !" he grins, seeing comments fly even faster, "Did you guys liked it ? I may have dropped a hint-song, linked with this week’s cover !" he teases, wiggling his eyebrows.

  
**ettinews** _your voice is so beautifuuuuuul_

**high1raw** _oppa sounds like an angel !!!!!!!_

**alpha.blade** _WOOOOOOOOOOW_

**limb-designer** _I DIED AND CAME BACK TO LIFE A HUNDRED TIMES_

**666tastic666** _I could listen to you sing all day long_

**bunnybyunbaek** _You were off tune on the 56 words of the second song_

**coreedia.jjang** _oppa you made me CRY_

**c4ts-4nd-birds** _so so so so beautiful <3_

  
"Ah, you’re all adorable, thank you so much !" Kyungsoo beams, making a heart with his right hand’s fingers.

  
**cheese-sunset** _YOU are adorable !!!!_

**wormix** _I LOVED LOVED LOVED IT_

**lemonlemonlemonade** _that’s what Heaven sounds like !_

**deb-dab06** _baekhyun oppa hahahaha he wasn’t off tune!_

**thspnx-teaspoon** _now I can’t wait to hear this week’s cover ! which one was the hint song ??????_

**kimkaaaaaaai** _Hyung you nailed it !_

**horboxen** _?????????????????????????????_

**pinks-and-reds** _no waaaaaaay_

**bunnybyunbaek** _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH_

**ashashton-and-the-socks** _ASDFGHJKLhslMUYEGrZDSIOJgjvsAKfiqSJZGYDCU_

**bunnybyunbaek** _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH NUGGET_

**bunnybyunbaek** _NUGGET CHICKEN CHICKEN_

**evilitisss** _Oppa I love ur voice_

**bunnybyunbaek** _FRIED CHICKEEEEEEEEEEEEN_

**ashashton-and-the-socks** _*HEaRT ATTACk*_

**robinod0cca** _KAI OPPA ?????????????_

**bunnybyunbaek** _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH_

**lolols._.773** _omg !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

  
Kyungsoo frowns, leaning forward a bit to try and keep up with the flashing speed of the comments. He scrolls up, a little confused, until his eyes widen, brain trying to process the sight of Kai’s username on his screen.

"Oh wow, uhm...thank you everyone, and uhm…h-hey Kai !" he utters with an awkward smile, not exactly sure if he should even greet the younger male.

He is awfully aware of the usual way the boy’s and his followers are figuratively jumping at each other’s throats, and he doesn’t want to start a war, since some of Kai’s fans are seemingly watching the livestream.

**thug_shakespeare** _THEY’RE FRIENDS?????????_

**indishive** _I CAN DIE HAPPY_

**mno2rocker** _asgdjpzvihvbus_

**squeez.me22** _*SCREAMS*_

**bunnybyunbaek** _Best. Day. EVER._

**glitterdivaa** _O_O_

**ashashton-and-the-socks** _I’M gONna crY :’) !!!!!!_

**cooperflashscoop** _HOLY GUACAMOLE KAI OPPA I LOVE YOU_

**bunnybyunbaek** _Keep you guacamole away from the fried chicken !_

**cooperflashscoop** _???_

**kimkaaaaaaai** _Hey hyung ^-^_

**ashashton-and-the-socks** _I Am CRYing !!!!_

**cooperflashscoop** _???????_

**bunnybyunbaek** _:)_

  
"Uhm, so...yeah, I was saying there was a song that was somehow...linked to...this song, I mean this week’s song. I mean the cover I did for this week…cover."

 

-  
_Kyungsoo would like to interrupt this story telling for a minute, just to explain that he is_ **not** flustered ! He is simply taken by surprised. And he admits that, like every human, when he is facing a situation he didn’t expect **at all** , he might be stuttering a teeny tiny bit. He also would like to mention Baekhyun **isn’t really helping** , as you’ll see in a second.  
Back to the story – he says thank you for listening to his explanation.  
-

 

**bunnybyunbaek** _Are you BLUSHING ????_

**ashashton-and-the-socks** _this iS THE BesT daY OF My life !!!!!!!!!!_

**thug_shakespeare** _BUT ARE THEY FRIEND ?????_

**compleeex_stitches** _I. SHIP. THEM._

**sassy-assassin214** _wait did they even meet ?_

**ring.my.bells** _I’M CONFUSED_

**grasshiphopper** _WE NEED A SHIP NAME_

**doo-it-foor-the-science** _Guys hold on yall need to CHILL_

**yummysugarfreedessert** _not again…….._

**bdageno4life** _*aggressively ships them*_

**bunnybyunbaek** _I knew this stream would entertain me. What a plot twist !_

**tinybottleofhate** _you’re all delusional. how on earth would it be possible_

**marsbomberh00d** _yeah they’re both BOYS_

**cottoncandyfluffyfluffy** _SO ?????_

**_loaniantimiami_ ** _yeah WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM_

**_taintedmind9_**   _D.O oppa do you know Kai oppa for real in real life ?_

**_cathcomafia_ ** _some people need to be more open minded_

  
"Guys, it’s getting late so I’m gonna have to end the stream now, sorry," Kyungsoo announces, trying to keep his voice steady, "Thank you all for coming and spending time with me. I’ll upload this week’s video tomorrow at the usual time. Have a great evening everyone, I love you all ! " he ends, waving at the camera, a stiff smile stretching his lips.

And he actually ends up dropping his phone right after pressing the button to end the livestream. Let’s all thank Ikea’s designers for the fluffy carpet cushioning the impact.

  
From : **Annoying Bunny**  
5:36pm-  
_FUCK I FORGOT TO GO TO CLASS !_

  
♪♫

  
  
Less than a week after what Kyungsoo decided to call the “ _wtf-happened-livestream-incident_ ”, the Composition major is more on edge than ever, as he walks back to his apartment.  
He just left Baekhyun, who had to do some research in the school’s library for an assignment. Nothing wrong so far. Save the fact that Baekhyun still hasn’t said anything about the above-mentioned incident. It has been four days. Ninety-eight hours and seventeen minutes. And Baekhyun, _Baekhyun !!!_ , still hasn’t made any allusion to it. Not once. Not even subtly. Nothing. Except the detail that he got an extra paper to write because he missed his class that day. And the intense staring, sometimes.  
So it obviously makes Kyungsoo particularly tense.

He is not sure when it’s gonna happen – and he is mainly puzzled about why it didn’t happen _yet_. But he is waiting for it. Anxiously.  
He did think about bringing it up himself, just to be done with it instead of just waiting for his best friend to possibly drop the bomb in front of people who don’t need to know. Well, actually, he isn’t exactly sure what is it they don’t need to know. And he is also confused about why he is so worried. Nothing really happened..., right ?

All in all, he can’t really relax like he would like to when he finally gets home. The Film Making major is supposed to come the day after to help him with his video and Kyungsoo dreads the moment they’ll be alone. But again, he doesn’t precisely get what makes him so distressed.

He tried to avoid going too much on his social media’s account during the past days, just to dodge the biggest wave of haters that has more than likely flooded his recently-turned-off notifications.

After debating for a little while, he sighs and finally grabs his phone, unlocking it, choosing to face the worse first by opening Instagram’s application. And closing it less than fifteen seconds later.

Just as he suspected. If he had any doubt about the news of Kai’s appearance during his livestream making its way to the younger boy’s fan’s ears, now Kyungsoo doesn’t have any anymore.

He takes a deep breath and opens the app again, tapping straight the private message icon instead of the notification one he pressed before, bracing himself unconsciously. His hand tightens around the device when he sees one of the newest message comes from a username he knows well by now. A deep breath again, and he lets the tip of his thumb brush his screen.

  
**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Hey hyung ! I just wanted to…apologize? For yesterday, I mean. I didn’t expect everyone to freak out like that xD. Okay I should’ve seen it coming but…yeah xD I didn’t, obviously. So…sorry ? Haha it was kinda funny tho… Sorry xD. Bye ?_

**Kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Hey hyung. You didn’t reply to the message I sent you last week but it says here that you didn’t read it so... You’re not mad at me, right :/ ?_

  
The message was sent a few hours ago apparently. A growing smile on his lips, Kyungsoo feels his fingers relaxing around his phone as he begins to type before even really thinking about it.

  
**melod.ous**  
_no I’m not mad don’t worry. I just didn’t really had the time to check the PMs or even the comments. no okay, I was actually not checking them on purpose tbh. You don’t have to apologize tho, you legit did nothing wrong ! I hope you didn’t get too many bad comments too._

  
After pressing _Send_ , he’s about to return to the previous screen but the three little dots indicating the younger boy is typing start wiggling in the left corner.

  
**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Wow ok good !! I was kinda worried xD…_

**melod.ous**  
_how do we always end up being connected at the exact same moment..._

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_uh ?_

**melod.ous**  
_nevermind_

**melod.ous**  
_anyway, you can stop being “kinda worried”. I’m not ma_ d

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_You sure ?_

**melod.ous**  
_Yes_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Sure “sure” or sure SURE ?_

**melod.ous**  
_I’m sure SURE ?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Is that a question ?_

**melod.ous**  
_…idk ?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_so you 100 % sure ?_

**melod.ous**  
_...200% sure Kai_

**melod.ous**  
_I’m not mad_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Jongin_

**melod.ous**  
_jongin ?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_My real name is Jongin, you can call me like that ^-^_

**melod.ous**  
_oh! Jongin ok!_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_:) \o/_

**melod.ous**  
_sorry, my name's Kyungsoo, I'm not being very polite rn_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_I know, don't worry hyung  :)_

**melod.ous**  
_okay_

**melod.ous**  
_wait what?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Hahaha I know your name, you don't have to be sorry for not introducing yourself properly_

**melod.ous**  
_huh? how do you know that tho?_

**melod.ous**  
_I think I never said it online?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Oh uhm...well you go at k-arts, right ?_

**melod.ous**  
_…..yeah ?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_I have friends majoring in Choreography there_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_And well…you're pretty famous in that school so I've heard about you xD_

**melod.ous**  
_?? friends ? do I know them ?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_I don't think you've met them in person_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
You might have recognized one of them who was in some of my Instagram videos

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_(not that I'm assuming you'd watch what I post tho xD)_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_And I saw you a bunch of time when I came to k-arts to hang out with them_

**melod.ous**  
_are you serious ?_

**melod.ous**  
_how did I not meet or even just see you then ???_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_I usually try to keep a low profile when I come_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_That's probably why ?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_I mean that school's pretty big and uhm...I had a real shitty stalker issue here at my school_

**melod.ous**  
_not cool_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Not really, no xD_

**melod.ous**  
_but wait..._

**melod.ous**  
_why didn't you come and talk to me when you saw me?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_I don't know ^-^' you always looked super busy, so..._

**melod.ous**  
_ugh I srsly feel bad now_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_No no no ! It's totally okay, hyung :) !_

**melod.ous**  
_okay but if you see me on campus when you visit, come and say hi okay?_

**melod.ous**  
_even if I look busy!!_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Haha alright ^-^ I will next time_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Same for you if you ever come to SeoulArts and you see me :)_

**melod.ous**  
_wait_

**melod.ous**  
_you go to SEOULARTS ???_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Yes ?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_I'm in the dance program_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Why ?_

**melod.ous**  
_I didn't even know you were studying in an art school !_

**melod.ous**  
_I have a friend studying there too !_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
R _eally ? What's their name ?? Maybe I know them !_

**melod.ous**  
_Kim Jongdae ? he's in the applied music program_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_NO WAY_

**melod.ous**  
_yeah way !!_

**melod.ous**  
_do you know him ???_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Not personally but I definitely know who he is !!_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_He's like, the vocal prodigy of SeoulArts xD_

**melod.ous**  
_he was actually supposed to study here but that lazy dumbass FORGOT to fill the appliance form in time_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Well at least he's doing wonderful here xD_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_I wanted to study at k-arts too tbh but I didn't get in :/_

**melod.ous**  
_bleh_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Yeah xD_

**melod.ous**  
_Jongdae's been trying to get transferred at k-arts for 3 years now_

**melod.ous**  
_it's not really working tho_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Yeah our school doesn't allow transfers if it's not to a sister school_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_But shit is happening right now_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_The grandson of the president apparently got transferred at k-arts this semester_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Students are not super happy with how unfair it is_

**melod.ous**  
_ugh_

**melod.ous**  
_yeah_

**melod.ous**  
_I know the guy_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Really ? Is he a friend of yours too ?_

**melod.ous**  
_not exactly_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_??_

**melod.ous**  
_it's complicated_

  
Kyungsoo decides to stay evasive with his answer. Telling Kai – Jongin – that he guy is his ex-boyfriend would bring up the _gay topic_ – as Baekhyun jokingly calls it – in the conversation. He is not by any mean ashamed of liking boys, but he knows a lot of people are still very disapproving about this, and he'd rather avoid the possible harsh comments if he can. And since he doesn't know where the younger boy stands regarding the matter, he deems safer to just elude the explanation and stay vague.

  
**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Okay xD_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_But anyway you should tell Jongdae sunbae to try it out again for next year! Maybe this time it'll work !_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_The administration is gonna have to adjust their politics if they don't want the whole student council to jump on them !_

**melod.ous**  
_wow I'll tell him then ! thanks !_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_You're welcome ^-^_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Oh shit ! I need to go now_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_I have a class in 20minutes and I need to get ready O.O_

**melod.ous**  
_yeah sure! don't be late!!_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_I better not be ! The teacher will probably scalp me if I am xD !_

**melod.ous**  
_okay let's try to keep your body intact then!! go get ready!_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Alright :P talk to you later ?_

**melod.ous**  
_sure!!_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Bye hyung ^-^ !_

**melod.ous**  
_bye Jongin_

  
Kyungsoo stares at his screen for longer than necessary, scrolling up and down a few times to re-read some of the messages they just sent to each other, knowing well he is smiling without any real reason. Or maybe he does have a reason. Kai, _Jongin_ , is really nice. And funny. Conversation flows easily with him. Even for someone like Kyungsoo who is always awkward during online conversation. Sure, their firsts message exchanges were kind of uncomfortable, but the red-haired male can’t really remember why by now.

Exiting the app, he is about to lock his phone when a text message notification pops up.

  
From : **Annoying Bunny**  
5:48pm-  
_Alright I’m done ! I swear I tried to wait for you to talk about it but fuck it Imma make you spill the beans ! I’m at ur place in 10min._

  
Kyungsoo dramatically sighs. Of course it had to be _now_.

  
To : **Annoying Bunny**  
5:49pm-  
_grab me something at starbucks on ur way_

  
And the thumb up/devil face emoji combo he gets as an answer is telling him he won’t get out of this easily. Or at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you may wanna go straight to the next chapter but a comment is always appreciated and it only takes a few seconds <3 !


	8. Chapter 8

True to his words, as soon as he arrives, Baekhyun demands an explanation right away, “ _and don’t forget any detail, please_ ”, about pretty much everything that concerns Jongin. Kyungsoo sighs. He knows there is no escaping this, seeing how Baekhyun immediately makes himself comfortable on his couch.

“What do you wanna know ?” he asks, sighing as he sits next to his best friend and crosses his arms, eyeing the Starbucks cup on the coffee table.

“Everything ! Like since when does the boy call you _Hyung_ ? How did that happen, you little secretive bastard !” Baekhyun shouts with a slap on Kyungsoo’s forearm.

“I don’t really remember ? Not so long ago. We were just chatting about something and-”

“About what ?” the older interrupts with an evident curiosity.

“I just told you I don’t remember. But somehow in the middle of the conversation, Jongin called me Hyung and I-”

Once again, Kyungsoo gets cut.

“Jongin ? Wait... Oh. My. God. Kyungsoo ! You’re on a fucking first name basis with him ?!!!” Baekhyun screams, incredulous eyes wide open.

“Uhm...yes ?”

“Holy fucking shit !”

Before Kyungsoo can realize what happens, Baekhyun is on the other side of the living room, his best friend’s phone in his hands, probably already opening Instagram’s private messages page.  
And from then, there is no stopping him from reading every single message Kyungsoo and Jongin sent to each other.  
Even when Kyungsoo chases him around the living room. Managing to read tiny words on a phone screen while jumping over a couch should be considered a talent, really.

“I need to change my passcode...” Kyungsoo sighs, shaking his head as he gives up trying to catch Baekhyun. The older male will have what he wants anyway.

“Aw that’s adorable !” the raven-haired man coos, “You were both so awkward ! Hey ! Look ! Maybe “ _bye_ ” can be your “ _okay_ ” !” he smiles.

“You need to stop making references to that book, seriously,” Kyungsoo says, rolling his eyes, “Can I have my phone back now, please ?”

“Pshh, I’m not done,” the older male answers as he shoos Kyungsoo away with a hand, “Drink your coffee and let me read. This is better than that cheesy fanfiction about you and me I found a while ago.”

“What the fuck ?!” Kyungsoo coughs, coffee dripping on his chin after he nearly chocked on his drink.

However, he gets no response, and he sighs once again and sinks in his couch, grabbing a throw pillow and placing it on his lap, just in case he needs something to either kill himself by suffocation or hit his best friend when he’ll start asking more questions.

  
♪♫

  
Whenever he posts something on Instagram, Kyungsoo is used to have likes and comments exploding in the next few seconds. This food selfie doesn’t break the rule. What he is not used to see though, is Jongin’s username popping up right away among the notifications.  
 

**kimkaaaaaaai** liked your post.

**kimkaaaaaaai** commented: _That looks SO YUMMY ! I want some !!!_

And of course...he should have expected what followed.

**bunnybyunbaek** commented: @kimkaaaaaaai are you talking about the food or the boy eating it ;P ?

  
Kyungsoo shakes his head, smiling nonetheless because really, despite promising he would stop, Baekhyun just can’t help it, and opens his private messages before he taps on Jongin’s conversation.

  
**melod.ous**  
_don’t mind my best friend pls_

**melod.ous**  
_his brain is mostly filled with air_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Hahaha it’s okay, he’s funny ^-^_

**melod.ous**  
_don’t tell him that_

**melod.ous**  
_his ego is oversized enough as it is_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_xD noted_

**melod.ous**  
_the food was yummy tho, you should try it_

**melod.ous**  
_it’s a little Spanish restaurant_

**melod.ous**  
_the owners are really nice and the food is delicious_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_It does looks delicious ! Where’s the restaurant ?_

**melod.ous**  
_it’s in Gangnam, I’ll give you the exact address if you want_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Yes please~_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_I sho_

**melod.ous**  
_?_

**melod.ous**  
_???_

**melod.ous**  
_you sho ?_

**melod.ous**  
_did you fall while typing on your phone…?_

**melod.ous**  
_jongin ???_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Omg I’m sorry my best friend sent me stuff on PM and it made IG crash xD_

**melod.ous**  
_it’s okay_

**melod.ous**  
_you scared me there for a minute_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Sorry xD I’m fine !_

**melod.ous**  
_what were you about to say before it crashed ?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Uhhhh o.O I don’t remember xD_

**melod.ous**  
_for real ?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Yeah xD but you know what…?_

**melod.ous**  
_?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_I was wondering…_

**melod.ous**  
_?_

**melod.ous**  
_so much suspense_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_xD Maybe we could…switch ?_

**melod.ous**  
_switch ? switch what ?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_To kakao ? It’d be easier to talk ?_

**melod.ous**  
_oh !_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_We don’t have to !_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Here is fine too !!_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_But uhm…yeah idk xD_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_??_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_You there :/ ?_

**melod.ous**  
_supersquishypororo93_

**melod.ous**  
_that’s my ID_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_………._

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Are you serious ?????_

**melod.ous**  
_Shut up_

**melod.ous**  
_I created it when I was young okay_

**melod.ous**  
_kakao doesn’t allow to change IDs_

**melod.ous**  
_don’t Pororo-shame me_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_What ?_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_No ! That’s not_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Okay wait xD_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_I’ll search you up_

**melod.ous**  
_okay_

**kimkaaaaaaai**  
_Found you ! Let’s go over there ?_

**melod.ous**  
_alright_

  
Kyungsoo switches app and opens Kakaotalk to check his notifications. Sometimes, his followers manage to find his ID – he still isn’t sure how they do it to be honest, but Baekhyun might have something to do with that – so he tends to be careful. The most recent one added him less than a minute ago, though, so it’s most likely Jongin.

He squints a bit and re-reads the boy’s ID three times, just to be sure he actually sees right, before letting out a loud laugh. What were the chances, really ?  
 

**kkroooong94 added you**

  
He quickly opens a new chatroom with him, thumbs typing fast.  
 

**Kyungsoo**  
_oh_

**Kyungsoo**  
_my_

**Kyungsoo**  
_god_

**Kyungsoo**  
_!!!!!!!_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Shush !_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Don’t Krong-shame me !_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I can’t change it, you said it yourself !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_can’t stop laughing tho xD_

  
From that moment, it almost feels too easy for Kyungsoo to talk with the younger boy. Notifications start to randomly pop up on his lock screen, and Baekhyun actually frowns and clicks his tongue at him one day when he sees the little banner on the screen, arguing that Kyungsoo has turned _off_ the notifications for his own chatroom and that, quote, “ _a nugget shouldn’t get more privileges than your best friend_ ”.

Kyungsoo sometimes like to re-read some of their conversations. When he’s bored between classes, for example. Or before going to bed.  
Like this one, when he spontaneously wrote to Jongin right after getting out of the university’s administration office. And the boy visibly has the notification On too, because he answered right away.  
 

**Kyungsoo**  
_send. help._

**NiniPoodle**  
_What’s up o.O ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I’m about to enter a life-threatening situation_

**NiniPoodle**  
_What ? What do u mean ? What happened ??????_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I enrolled for the winter session in the dance department_

**NiniPoodle**  
_…_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Ok and ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_and I enrolled for the winter session in the DANCE department_

**NiniPoodle**  
_So what ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I CANNOT dance, remember ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Why did u enroll then xD ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_meh. it’s not exactly mandatory but it’s still heavily advised that the composition majors actually take a few dance classes_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Mmh, kinda makes sense :)_

**Kyungsoo**  
_yeah but still… I kept postponing it since I entered the school_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Why xD ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_well I could die._

**NiniPoodle**  
_Haha what r u talking about xD_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I won’t be laughing when I end up with my leg in a cast._

**NiniPoodle**  
_I’m sure you’ll do great hyung, come on ! Fighting !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_pray for me._

  
Or that one, when Jongin randomly asked him for help.

 

**NiniPoodle**  
_Hyung !_

**NiniPoodle**  
_HYUNG !!!_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Bruno Mars or Jason Derulo ? :)_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I’m gonna need a little more information here…_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Just pick one !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_uhm…Bruno Mars ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_UGH_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Crap now it’s down to 2-2_

**Kyungsoo**  
_okay I’m lost_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I’m trying to decide what song I’m gonna create a choreo on for my next video and I couldn’t choose_

**Kyungsoo**  
_okay…?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_So I asked 3 of my friends and 2 said Jason Derulo_

**NiniPoodle**  
_And 1 said Bruno mars_

**Kyungsoo**  
_so I didn’t help at all..._

**NiniPoodle**  
_Nope_

**Kyungsoo**  
_sorry_

**NiniPoodle**  
_How am I gonna chooooooooose  T-T_

**Kyungsoo**  
_eeny meeny miny moe ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_…_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Good idea_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Thanks :D !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_wait I was just joking !!_

**KyungSoo**  
_Jongin ?????_

**KyungSoo**  
_please don’t tell your subscribers I helped you choose like that X_X_.

  
♪♫

  
It’s a week before Chanyeol birthday that Kyungsoo finds himself sat on his couch, chatting with Baekhyun and Henry as they drink beers, a Black Keys album playing in the background.  
Baekhyun had made sure to find something to keep Chanyeol busy so he wouldn’t be there as they plan his surprise birthday party.

“Junmyeon better arrive soon, the party will be at his place. We need his help !”

“He’s on a date with Eunji. She was pissed off he didn’t reply to her text messages a few days ago, so he’s trying to make it up with a nice dinner,” Baekhyun provides with a snort.

“Speaking of dates, Yeol got himself one tonight too ?” Henry asks, looking at Baekhyun since the boy most likely has something to do with it.

“Yeah, it was a perfect way to keep him away from here.”

“The blue-haired girl finally accepted a date with him ?” Kyungsoo nonchalantly asks, munching on some chips.

“Mmh, like two weeks ago I think ?”

Henry visibly frowns.

“Wait, but I saw him kissing that girl from your department the other day ! He called her Nana, or something...”

“Oh, yeah, Jinah," Baekhyun nods, "He’s dating her too.”

“Which is he with tonight, then ?” Kyungsoo questions, amused.

“Neither of them,” Baekhyun says with a smirk, “He’s with the waitress from the café we always go to.”

“What the hell !”

Kyungsoo incredulous face doesn’t seem to surprise Baekhyun, seeing how he merely shrugs and takes a big gulp of his beer.

“He says there’re a lot of fish in the water and he’s build to be a shark.”

“I wasn’t aware sharks were jerks,” Kyungsoo sighs.

“He does have a lot of teeth, though !” Henry points out, getting up to change the music after the previous album reached the last song.

“Shpark Chanyeol...” Baekhyun chuckles.

“Park Sharkyeol,” Kyungsoo adds.

The two best friends swiftly turn their head toward each other before they simultaneously dig for their phone to change Chanyeol’s contact name.

“You guys are mean,” Henry rolls his eyes as he sits back on the beanbag.

“Excuse you, Hyung, we’re not the ones that need to use a special-jackass app to schedule our dates with all those naive girls !” Kyungsoo retorts, placing his phone back on the coffee table.

“Does an app like this exist ?” Henry asks, eyes widening.

“Probably,” Baekhyun says.

“Definitely,” Kyungsoo nods, “There’s so many stupid apps out there. Like that one with a girl’s voice reading the alphabet, but in a sultry tone.”

“Seriously ?”

Kyungsoo nods again.

“How do you even know about that app ?” Baekhyun teases with an exaggerated wink and Kyungsoo snorts.

“Yeah sure, cause a girl’s sexy talking usually turns me on so much !” he says, playing along.

“A~...”

Kyungsoo’s hand stops above the bowl of salted peanuts and he looks up to see where that metallic voice was coming from. Apparently, from Henry’s phone that he got out while Kyungsoo and Baekhyun were talking.

“B~...”

“Did he...” Kyungsoo breathes out, quizzical.

“C~...”

“Admit it, girl. You want my...” Henry starts and then taps on his phone

“D~...”

Henry bursts out laughing, head thrown back and Baekhyun looks half amused and half dismayed.

“Of course he downloaded it.”

“Of course,” Kyungsoo deadpans.

And it’s an hour later, when Henry comes back from the bathroom with his phone in hand and shouts an excited “Hey you had a Magikarp in your shower !” that Kyungsoo decides he really needs to find some better friends.

Once Chanyeol’s birthday party is all planned and everyone has left his apartment – on different level of tipsiness – Kyungsoo takes a long shower and settles himself in bed. He feels kind of lightheaded from the number of beers he gulped down, but still content, as he usually is whenever he spends time with his friends. He takes a few minutes going through the comments of the last video he posted on YouTube, happy to read such a positive feedback. The majority is endlessly praising him for his acoustic rendition of The Blower’s Daughter by Damien Rice, caps lock and exclamation points dancing in all their comments. And the ones that are not giving him compliments are either asking how Baekhyun is or how he met Jongin.

Kyungsoo shakes his head, smiling and answers a few – avoiding the ones about the dancer, of course – until he feels his eyes starting to sting from tiredness. He exits the app and lock his phone, but before he has the time to place it on his nightstand, the device vibrates in his hand and Kakaotalk’s cute notification sound echoes in the silent room.

At this hour, it could only be a few persons, but somehow, he knows _who_ just sent him a message. So he lies comfortably again and unlocks the phone.

  
**NiniPoodle**  
_Hyung !_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Are you sleeping ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I was going to_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Sorry :/_

**Kyungsoo**  
_no it’s fine, what’s up ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Nothing much_

**Kyungsoo**  
_?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I just wanted to…talk to you, I guess ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_did something happen ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_No, everything’s fine_

**Kyungsoo**  
_ok I’m confused_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Sorry xD_

  **NiniPoodle**  
_I just watched your last video and uhm_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Yeah, just wanted to tell you it was amazing !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_Thanks :D_

**Kyungsoo**  
_people seem to like it too_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Yeah, I saw_

**Kyungsoo**  
_you sure you’re okay ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Yes of course ^-^_

**NiniPoodle**  
_wait brb_

  
Kyungsoo frowns as he stares at his glowing screen. Jongin usually writes types emojis as punctuation and it weirds Kyungsoo out to not see as many as he is used to.  
After a long wait, Kyungsoo is on the verge of dozing off but his phone vibrates again and he jolts, opening his eyes.

  
**NiniPoodle**  
_I’m back, sorry_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Still awake ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_barely_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I can let you go to sleep, Hyung_

**NiniPoodle**  
_We can talk tomorrow_

**Kyungsoo**  
_no it’s okay, what happened ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I’m not sure_

**Kyungsoo**  
_??_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I heard a voice outside my door so I went to check_

**Kyungsoo**  
_wtf_

**NiniPoodle**  
_There’s a guy in the hallway, he’s holding a flip flop_

**Kyungsoo**  
_we’re in November…._

**NiniPoodle**  
_He’s talking to the flip flop_

**Kyungsoo**  
_what. the. actual. fuck._

**NiniPoodle**  
_I have no idea_

**Kyungsoo**  
_is he drunk ???_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Probably ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I hope for him he is cause if he’s sober then he has a serious problem_

**NiniPoodle**  
_xD true_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Maybe I should check if he’s okay_

**Kyungsoo**  
_yeah you should_

**NiniPoodle**  
_okay now he’s yelling at it O.O_

**NiniPoodle**  
_“why you so mean to me ?”_

**Kyungsoo**  
_aww poor guy is harassed by a shoe_

**NiniPoodle**  
_“ritual says that I want my flip flops with more vinegar”_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I’m dying omg x’D_

**Kyungsoo**  
_well he’s talking to a shoe... don’t expect him to be rational_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I should go see if he needs anything_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I don’t even know if he lives in this dorm, I never saw him before_

**Kyungsoo**  
_maybe you shouldn’t actually_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Omg he’s crying now_

**Kyungsoo**  
_abort mission !_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Brb xD_

**Kyungsoo**  
_Jongin I swear I’m not coming to save you if the other flip flop attacks you_

**Kyungsoo**  
_Jongin ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_uh oh_

**Kyungsoo**  
_if you don’t answer in the next 5 minutes I’m calling the police and sending them to your dorm_

**Kyungsoo**  
_JONGIN_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Sorry ! I’m here I’m here !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_DON’T SCARE ME LIKE THAT_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Awwww were you worried about me ;) ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_of course not_

**Kyungsoo**  
_just didn’t want to be forced to get up and rescue you_

**NiniPoodle**  
_So you would’ve let me die ;-; ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_yup_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Rude._

**Kyungsoo**  
_so what was flip flop guy up to ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Idk ! When I asked him if he was okay he started singing_

**Kyungsoo**  
_was he any good ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_It was more like yelling tbh_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I’m not even sure it was in Korean o.O_

**Kyungsoo**  
_kinda like when you attempted IU’s song ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_OMG WHY DO YOU STILL REMEMBER THAT_

**Kyungsoo**  
_hehehe_

**NiniPoodle**  
_YOU DANCED TO CATALLENA FIRST_

**Kyungsoo**  
_SHUT UP DON’T REMIND ME_

**NiniPoodle**  
_HA !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I’m blocking you._

**NiniPoodle**  
_What ? NO !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_then forget you ever saw that video !_

**NiniPoodle**  
_But whyyyy ? You were cute !!!!_

**Kyungsoo**  
_blocking you._

**NiniPoodle**  
_HYUNG NO_

**NiniPoodle**  
_OKAY OKAY I’LL FORGET_

**Kyungsoo**  
_good boy_

**NiniPoodle**  
_You know Baekhyun-ssi messaged me after that_

**Kyungsoo**  
_he did ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Yeah he apologized like a hundred times_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Asking me not to make fun of you and stuff like that_

**Kyungsoo**  
_he did ????_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I think he felt super guilty ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_He kinda hinted that you guys had a fight because of it_

**Kyungsoo**  
_yeah kind of_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I felt bad for him tbh xD_

**Kyungsoo**  
_don't. he's an idiot_

**Kyungsoo**  
_we’re okay now anyway_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I mean he’s stupid but he’s my best friend, so…_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Yeah my best friend is an idiot too_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Hyung ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_You there ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Hyuuuuuung_

**NiniPoodle**  
_:(_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Did you fall asleep ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I didn’t even get to say goodnight :(_

  
And Kyungsoo can’t help but smile the next morning when he grabs his fallen phone from between the sheets and reads the poor abandoned boy’s words.

  
♪♫

  
The three following weeks are spent studying for finals, and Kyungsoo only interrupts his studying schedule for Chanyeol’s birthday party, which was a successful surprise enough to bring tears in the birthday boy’s eyes. He still chats with Jongin every now and then, the dancer often being the one who messages him to complain about how he probably is gonna fail his own exams, despite Kyungsoo doing his best to reassure him.

When he finally exits the auditorium after his last exam – quite proud if himself, must he say – Kyungsoo immediately sends a text to Henry to ask him how everything went. His Hyung is graduating and leaving the school at the end of this semester and has been a nervous mess since he realized it two weeks ago. The “NAILED IT !” message he receives back brings a smile to his lips and it’s with a spring in his steps that he walks home. Baekhyun is supposed to join him here later so they can go out and celebrate the end of the finals, but he still needs to pack his stuff for his Christmas vacation at his parents’ house.

He will stay two days there, then come back for the Winter session, go back for Christmas Eve and Christmas day, before coming back again on campus for the rest of winter break. All this back and forth was gonna be tiring, but he had promised his family he would spend Christmas with them. And he missed them anyway.

Kyungsoo is midway through filling his suitcase with warm clothes when Baekhyun’s voice makes him jolt.

“So, did you see your subscribers finally found a ship name ?”

Kyungsoo looks up towards his bedroom door, frowning.

“How did you get in ?”

“Someone was getting out when I arrived at the building door. And yours wasn’t locked. Not the point, though,” his best friend smiles, throwing himself on Kyungsoo’s bed.

The Composition major watches as Baekhyun makes himself comfortable, laying on his stomach, feet cutely flapping in the air as he props his chin on his hands.

“A ship name for who ?” he asks, going back to packing.

“You and the nugget. I mean, _Jongin_ …”

Kyungsoo chooses not to acknowledge the emphasis or the smirk he can hear in the other’s voice. Baekhyun would never let go, he had to accept it and try his best to ignore it.

“This is ridiculous,” he deadpans as he pushes harder on the pile of sweaters to make some room in the luggage.

“It is,” Baekhyun agrees, “KaDi sounds weird. I would’ve gone with KaiSoo, it sounds smoother !”

“Yeah but most of them don’t know my real name.”

“Ha ! So you agree it does sound better !”

“That’s not what I said,” Kyungsoo sighs, rolling his eyes, “There’s no need for a ship name anyway.”

“Sure, sure. And by the way, most of them do know your real name by now. Okay, change of topic ! I saw Hyunsik earlier, on my way here.”

“Okay.”

“He asked me about you. Again.”

“Okay.”

“He wanted to know how you were doing and if you were avoiding him.”

“Okay.”

“And he asked me to convince you to go and grab a coffee with him.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes shoot up and he gives a serious look to his still smiling best friend.

“Are you ?”

“Hell no ! I told him he needed to let it go, let it go, ‘cause he can’t hold you back anymore !” Baekhyun says with a mischievous smile.

“You sang it, didn’t you ?”

“Of course !”

“Good. He’s been trying to talk to me since he got here and I’m getting tired of having to dodge and escape every time I see him. It’s like he got his hands on my schedule or something,” Kyungsoo ends with another sigh, zipping his full suitcase.

“He probably did. You’re kinda famous here, it wouldn’t be too hard to ask around random students.”

“Yeah well, it’s annoying. And it irks me that he even goes asking my friends.”

“Hey don’t worry, I don’t mind !” Baekhyun reassures him with a lazy punch on his arm as they walk to the living room, “It’s fun to brush him off ever time !”

Kyungsoo snorts and shakes his head. Of course Baekhyun would find entertaining to discard any of Hyunsik’s attempts to get in touch with Kyungsoo

“The others are meeting us at the restaurant, so if you’re ready, let’s go !”

Kyungsoo makes sure he has his phone and wallet before he nods and puts on his coat.

“Yep, we’re good. Can’t drink too much tonight, my train is at six tomorrow morning.”

“Holy shit why did you book one so early ?” Baekhyun shrieks and looks at him as if he was crazy.

“Holiday season. Early trains are cheaper.”

“You stingy little shit !”

“Says the one who knows I got him an expensive present for Christmas,” Kyungsoo chuckles as he locks his door.

“That’s because you love me the most !”

“You’re so delusional, it’s almost adorable.”

“I love you too !” Baekhyun singsongs, grabbing Kyungsoo’s arm to make him walk faster in the hallway.

  
♪♫

  
After spending the weekend in his hometown, Kyungsoo is a little sad to be back on campus, even if he knows he’ll go back for Christmas. He knows enrolling for that Winter session was important, but he can’t help but already miss his parents.

So it’s in a gloomy mood that he enters the dance studio. A bunch of people are already dispersed in the big room, chatting in groups, as he places his bag against one of the wall.

“Kyungsoo ! I didn’t know you were gonna be here !”

When he looks up, it’s to find Hyunseong brightly smiling at him and Daehyun who looks surprised to see him there.

“I wish I wasn’t. This is gonna be disastrous,” Kyungsoo answers, “At least you guys are there,” he adds, a bit relieved to have two of his classmates with him, even if they won’t be able to do much if he ends up breaking a bone.

They’re in the middle of a conversation about how the final exams went when a high-pitched voice interrupts them.

“Good morning everyone ! Welcome to the Dance department winter session ! Come and gather in the center, please.”

The middle-aged woman who spoke carries a polite smile as she waits for the ten or so students to pack themselves in front of her.

“She seems nice,” Kyungsoo whispers to Hyunseong who simply nods.

“Good. Let me introduce myself. My name is Nam Jeongho, and I teach Modern Dance in the Choreography department. I promise I am very nice, so do not be afraid,” she says, earning a few chuckles. “However, there are rules in my classes that I will expect you to follow. The winter session is an active and intensive program, so I will not tolerate any misbehavior.”

“You were saying ?” Daehyun mumbles, leaning towards Kyungsoo.

The eyes of the professor turn straight to glare at them and Kyungsoo swallow the chortle that had started to come out at his classmate’s comment.

“The rules include no chatter while I talk, or teach,” she says coldly, keeping her eyes on them until the two boys bow politely, before she continues, “You will all be here on time every morning, in a _proper_ outfit,” she adds, eyeing the crop top one of the girl in the front is wearing, “I am also expecting you to give your best and keep a good attitude. Am I clear ?”

The previously cheerful mood had been swallowed by an absolute silence as she was enunciating her rules, and only a few tentative “Yes ma’am” answered her as she gauges the group facing her.

“Very well. That being said, some of the students from the dance department who aspire of becoming dance teachers will be here to help all of you, so do not stress out too much. You will meet them in a few hours. For now, let’s start by some stretches.”

She claps once and the students fill the room, sending each other worried looks.

  
Two hours later, Kyungsoo is heavily panting above his bag, taking big gulps from his water bottle as he replies to Baekhyun text message.  
 

From : **Annoying Bunny**  
10:14am-  
_Do I need to come & save you ?_

To : **Annoying Bunny**  
11:03pm-  
_PLEASE DO_

  
He thought all his vocal lessons had given him a good breathing technique. How wrong he was ! After stretching, the professor had decided to teach them a simple routine. And well, according to Kyungsoo, the only _simple_ thing about it was to stand still before starting the actual routine. After that, it was a succession of _pliés_ and _tendus_ , _chassés_ , _fendus_ , _pas de bourré_ and _pirouettes_ , _passés_ and _relevés_ and if Kyungsoo hadn’t known better, he could’ve believed he was in his French class.

The dance department students had started to gather about fifteen minutes before the professor had allowed them to take a break, silently stretching in a corner of the room as they threw some amused looks at the struggling newbies. How they even managed to bend in two so easily and lift their legs so high would forever remain a mystery to the Composition major.

“Kyungsoo Sunbae ?”

The unfamiliar lisp makes him look up from his phone and he blinks at the tall boy that stands in front of him, visibly hesitant.

“Yes ?”

“Hi, I’m Oh Sehun,” the boy shyly smiles, “I’m from the dance department.”

Kyungsoo nods and greets him back, noticing that the other dance students are all scattered in the studio, talking with the novices. He doesn’t ask how the boy knows his name, because the answer is quite obvious.

“We’re supposed to help the students from other departments that are taking the winter session,” Sehun says, still looking unsure, “So...is it okay if I work with you ? I’m a year younger but I promise I’m good !”

And he sounds so eager that Kyungsoo can’t help but laugh.

“Yeah sure, if you’re up for a challenge !” he answers before being rewarded with a bright smile.

“It’s fine, you’re a musician, so at least you have a sense of rhythm,” he starts, visibly more confident now, “Last year I helped a girl from the theater department and…well, she tried. But she always kinda looked like a squid being electrocuted.”

“Oh wow, that must’ve been quite a view.”

“Yeah it was hard to stay serious and not laugh. It’s the first time in my life that I was tired from dancing.”

“Well, working with me, it could happen again,” Kyungsoo warns him with a smile.

“I’m sure it won’t !” Sehun cutely objects, shaking his head. “So, the goal is to create a short variation that we will present in front of a few teachers at the end of the session, in about four or five weeks. I don’t have to be part of the choreography, but I can if you want some duet elements. It’s up to you.”

“Please don’t let me dance alone, “Kyungsoo awkwardly laughs and Sehun nods with another smile.

“Alright. Um, just a tip, though, she doesn’t really like students using their phone, even during breaks, so...be subtle.”

“Noted,” Kyungsoo says, burying the device inside his bag and checking the teacher hasn’t seen him.

“She didn’t see, it’s fine,” the boy assures him, “Okay, let’s get into it then ? Are your legs okay ? I’ve seen them shake while you were dancing earlier.”

“You watched me dance, or at least try to, and yet you still decided to help me ?”

“You might’ve not noticed but you were one of the most coordinated. It’s gonna be okay, don’t worry.”

And his eye-smile gives Kyungsoo a tiny bit of hope.

  
Later that night, after falling in his bed with a groan, Kyungsoo forces his sore arms – probably the part of his body hurting the less, though – to grab his phone and open the Kakaotalk app.

  
**Kyungsoo**  
_I told you !_

  
And he doesn’t have to wait a full minute before an answer pops up.

  
**NiniPoodle**  
_You told me ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I told you it was gonna be horrible_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Sorry what are we talking about ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_WINTER SESSION ! DANCE !_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Oh xD_

**Kyungsoo**  
_it’s a DISASTER_

**NiniPoodle**  
_No it’s not xD_

**Kyungsoo**  
_IT IS_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Is not_

**Kyungsoo**  
_IS_

**Kyungsoo**  
_the teacher is SCARY_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I know xD_

**Kyungsoo**  
_?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I have friend at K-Arts in the dance department, remember ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_right…_

**Kyungsoo**  
_well I suck level 1265868745_

**NiniPoodle**  
_No you don’t xD_

**Kyungsoo**  
_how do you know ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Uhm…I assumed ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_pshhhh I suck, trust me_

**Kyungsoo**  
_the poor soul helping me was surely about to have a mental breakdown_

**NiniPoodle**  
_No he didn’t xD_

  
Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow as he stares at Jongin’s answer because what the fuck, he didn’t even say it was a guy.  
 

**Kyungsoo**  
_???_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I mean he probably didn’t_

**NiniPoodle**  
_You can’t be THAT helpless_

**Kyungsoo**  
_oh I am ! but he was really kind_

**Kyungsoo**  
_he tried not being too obvious when he laughed at me_

**NiniPoodle**  
_He didn’t laugh at you !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_yes he did_

**Kyungsoo**  
_but he tried to hide it_

**Kyungsoo**  
_it was cute, really_

**NiniPoodle**  
_What ? No it wasn’t_

**Kyungsoo**  
_you know you keep reacting as if you were there..._

**NiniPoodle**  
_Of course I wasn’t_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I’m in Suncheon rn_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I haven’t learned how to teleport yet_

**Kyungsoo**  
_right. how’s the winter break going so far ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_It’s only been three days_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I mostly slept xD_

**Kyungsoo**  
_that must be nice_

**NiniPoodle**  
_It is :P ! You should try !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_you’re a funny guy, aren’t you ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I do my best_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Have you eaten yet ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I barely had enough strength to shower_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Hyung you have to eat !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I’ll have a big breakfast tomorrow_

**NiniPoodle**  
_No way !_

**NiniPoodle**  
_You danced all day ! You need to eat !!_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I’m already laying in my bed_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I don’t care ! Get up and go eat something_

**Kyungsoo**  
_it’s fine_

**NiniPoodle**  
_No it’s not_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I’m not letting you go to sleep until you’ve eaten something !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_well I could just turn off my phone, you know_

**NiniPoodle**  
_…_

**Kyungsoo**  
_yeah watchu gonna do, huh ?_

  
Kyungsoo chuckles as he re-reads his reply and waits for Jongin’s, rolling his eyes at how stupid it sounds.  
He however gets startled when Kakao's overly cute ringtone comes out of his device and he sits down in a sharp movement.

**_Incoming Voice Call_ **

The words float on his screen under Jongin’s profile picture and Kyungsoo is too shocked to put his finger in motion and answer the call.

The ringtone stops.

Then comes back a few seconds later. And this time, Kyungsoo tentatively taps the answering icon before bringing the phone to his ear.

“H- Hello ?”

There’s some rustling of fabric on the other side of the line before he hears Jongin’s voice.

“Hyung !” the boy says and he kind of sounds surprised.

“Yes ?”

“Uhm...hi...”

“Hi...”

“Uhm... You- Yeah, hi...”

_Cute_.

“Hi,” Kyungsoo repeats with a soft chuckle, laying back slowly on his pillow – how on earth can abs be _that_ sore.

“Sorry, I didn’t...really think this through.”

“You didn’t think I was gonna answer ?”

“Uhm... I hoped you would ?”

“So you could tell me what ?” Kyungsoo asks with a smirk, even if Jongin can’t see him.

“Uhm... To tell you...” The boy pauses, and Kyungsoo wonders if he even remembers. “Oh ! Eat ! To tell you to eat !” With a new quiet chuckle, Kyungsoo shakes his head. “Don’t laugh ! It’s important !”

“But I’m too comfortable in my bed, right now. I don’t wanna get up.”

“Hyung , you pushed your body more that it’s used to. And it’s gonna be like that for at least two weeks. You need to take care of yourself,” the boy says in a shy tone.

“I’m fine, though.”

“I told you I’m not letting you sleep until you eat. I wasn’t kidding !”

“And I still could hang up and turn my phone off,” Kyungsoo challenges, clearly amused.

“Hyuuuung,” Jongin whines and Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, “Please ? For me ?” he tries, before switching to a more confident voice, “You should listen to me anyway ! I’m the dancer here, so I know better !”

“Yeah and you also are the youngest,” Kyungsoo snorts, “What happened to respecting your Hyung ?”

“I’ll respect him when he will respect his body.”

“You’re really persistent, aren’t you ?”

“Yes, so stop being stubborn.”

A fond smile stretches Kyungsoo’s lips, because really, it’s ridiculous how Jongin keeps insisting. And it’s even more absurd that Kyungsoo is considering giving up. Because Kyungsoo does _not_ let other people dictate him what he should do, unless he asked for an opinion first. But it’s also kinda cute how the dancer refuses to let go.

“Hyung ?”

“Okay, okay, I’m getting up,” Kyungsoo capitulates, pushing the bed covers before he carefully swings his legs out of the bed with a groan, “Just know that I’m currently in pain because of you,” he adds as he slowly stands up, feeling a sharp burning sensation throughout his whole body – even some in places he didn’t know humans had muscles.

“I’m sorry...” Jongin says, sounding suddenly unsure, “I just wanna help. It will be worse tomorrow if you don’t-”

“I’m kidding, it’s okay,” Kyungsoo interrupts, making his way with small steps to his kitchen, “Okay sensei, I’m in front of my fridge, what should I eat ?”

“Pshh, what sensei. Just eat whatever you have. Nothing too heavy, though, since you’re still going to sleep soon. Do you have any fruit juice ? Tart cherry or pineapple ?”

“Nope, all I have is some cucumber juice because a friend pranked Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo answers after a quick check in the drinks compartment, smiling as he remembers his best friend’s face, “Is fried rice okay ? My mom packed me some leftover this morning.”

“Yeah, that’ll do ! Your mom sounds very nice !”

“She is,” he agrees as he transfers the food from the small plastic container to a plate before putting it in his microwave, “She knew I wouldn’t have time to go grocery shopping today and she didn’t want me to starve.”

“See ? Your mom would agree with me right now !” Jongin asserts in a proud tone. The sound of a microwave beeping on the other side of the line echoes in sync with his own and Kyungsoo frowns. “So, did you have a good weekend at your parents’ house ?” Jongin then asks.

“Yeah, it was nice, I hadn’t seen them since summer,” Kyungsoo says, sitting down on the ground in front of his coffee table and starting to eat.

“Was your brother here too ?”

“No, he’ll be arriving on Christmas Eve with his girlfriend. Are your sisters home for the Holidays ?”

“Not yet. Jungah will be here in two days, I think. And Junghee will come on Christmas Eve, with Daewon and Rahee.”

Kyungsoo smiles again hearing the excitement in Jongin’s voice. The boy has already told him all about his niece, and it was pretty clear he loved her to death.

“Bet you’re planning on spoiling her for Christmas,” he laughs, before a chewing sound makes him cock an eyebrow, “Are you eating ?”

“Uhm...yes ? All this food talk made me hungry,” Jongin sheepishly admits, “But yeah, I got her a lot of presents, I hope she’ll like them !”

“I’m sure she will. And if she doesn’t, you’ll probably end up playing with the toys anyway.”

They keep talking as the both of them eat and Kyungsoo almost feels like they are eating together, even if they are on completely different sides of the country.  
He is in front of the sink washing his dishes and holding his phone between his ear and shoulder when Jongin brings back the original topic.

“So uhm...maybe... Do you want me to text you a list of food that is good for muscle soreness ?” he asks, “For when you’ll go grocery shopping...”

“If it can help me postponing the moment I die, I’m willing to try.”

“I could also give you some...uhm...some massage techniques, if you want. I mean, I can’t _show_ you but I can try explaining them ?”

Kyungsoo smiles again when he opens the faucet and starts rinsing his plate. Because it’s amazing how Jongin can act so confident but still sound so shy a moment after.

“That’d be nice, thanks Jongin.”

“I’m sorry you’re hurting right now. I wish I could help more but...I mean, there’s no miraculous cure. Doms are a pain in the ass.”

Kyungsoo’s fingers slip and he loses his grip on his plate, jolting at the loud clang echoing in the room when it falls into the sink. His dripping hand shoots up and quickly grab the phone before it falls to its death.

“Wh- what ?”

“Are you okay ? What was that noise ? Did you fall ?” Jongin ask, sounding alarmed.

“No. I’m- I’m fine, I just-... What the fuck are you talking about ?”

“Hmm ?”

“Doms ? What does it have to do with the topic ?” Kyungsoo inquires, eyes open wide.

“Oh ! No uhm, no. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. DOMS. Sorry...” the boy nervously laughs.

“Oh... Well, let’s not use that sentence out of context...”

His comment sends Jongin into a quiet fit of laughter, chuckling a quick “Oh my god” before he apologies once more.

When Kyungsoo is finally back in his bed and ready to turn the lights off, he sighs contently. His body still hurts everywhere, but eating had at least helped him relax. Or maybe was it just talking to Jongin.

“Remember to drink a lot of water throughout the day, okay ?” the boy softly advises, “And don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Alright,” Kyungsoo says, yawning, “I’m gonna sleep now, thanks for the tips.”

“You’re welcome. Hey, Hyung ?”

“Mmh ?”

“Can I...call you again some other day ?” Jongin hesitantly utters and Kyungsoo sleepily blinks.

“Uhm y- yeah, sure.”

“Cool. Okay I’ll let you sleep now. And don’t worry too much, Sehun’s great, he’ll help you a lot.”

“Yeah, he seems- wait, what ? How did you-”

“Goodnight Hyung !” Jongin cuts him in a tense voice.

“Wait !”

The call ends and Kyungsoo is left frowning at his glowing screen because he definitely _didn’t_ mention Sehun’s name in the conversation.

And Kyungsoo had actually planned on asking said boy if he somehow knew Jongin, but the second the dance practice starts on the next morning, he forgets about it. He hadn’t anticipated that his body would hurt five times more than it did the night before. That was going to be five long, very long, weeks. He was already praying for the weekend of Christmas to arrive quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many KaiSoo in this chapter !!!!  
> For those who don't know me, I’m really not into the whole insta-love kind of stories xD it’s just not realistic. But they’re getting there, as you can see !!!!  
> And some SeSoo because they’re adorable. And Baekhyun. Just because.
> 
> Concerning the Damien Rice’s song mentioned, this is a song that is very special to me. The younger ones might not even know this diamond exists. There’s a lot of awesome covers of it, but you should check out Joe Moore’s one here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3YRjfqAutY


	9. Chapter 9

“Okay, okay, let’s try this one more time,” Kyungsoo manages to say, tears in his eyes.

Sitting in front of his desk in his childhood’s bedroom, Kyungsoo wipes his cheeks and tries to focus as he looks at the camera. He jabs Seungsoo in the ribs to urge him to get his laughter under control too.

“Sorry, I’m good, I’m good,” his brother utters, still chuckling, “Go ahead !”

“Alright,” Kyungsoo readjusts his position on his chair and smiles brightly, “Hey everyone ! D.O here ! Hope you’re having a good time this Christmas !” He makes a peace sign with his fingers and wave at the camera, watching in the flip screen as his brother imitates him, “For those who don’t know, I’m in my hometown this weekend ! And since I know you like when I have guests over in my videos and my brother happens to be here too, I thought I could use him to-”

“Use me ? I feel violated,” Seungsoo snorts, protecting his body like an overly offended virgin and Kyungsoo has to use all his energy not to start laughing again.

For fifteen minutes already, they’ve been trying to record the intro for this video but haven’t yet managed to stay serious enough to go on. Thankfully, they’re home alone, no pun intended. His parents took Jiyeon with them for their last-minute Christmas’ grocery shopping, pretending they missed some _absolutely vital_ ingredients – according to Kyungsoo’s mom –, when they really just wanted to get to know their oldest son’s girlfriend without the boy looming over.

“Embrace it. So, yeah, I thought I could have him with me and we could do a tag, since you guys usually love whenever I do some !”

“What was the last one you did ?” his brother interrupts him again, opening a bag of gummy bears.

“You mean you don’t watch my videos ?”

“I do !”

“Obviously not !

“Moving on !” Seungsoo singsongs, looking back at the camera with a big smile before popping a candy in his mouth.

“Okay, introduce yourself, you traitor,” Kyungsoo chortles.

“Hi everyone, my name’s Seungsoo and I’m this minimoy’s brother !”

“What the fuck !” Kyungsoo snorts and the two brothers burst out laughing again, “I thought we agreed on not doing size related jokes-... Oh wait, that came out wrong...” he cracks again, dropping his head down as he silently laughs, nose scrunched up.

“Embrace it,” Seungsoo hiccups through his hilarity fit, “Go on, go on !”

“Fine, so we’re gonna do the sibling tag. And one of the rule is that I’m not supposed to edit anything out.”

“Oh that’s bad !”

“Yup ! But also good cause I won’t have time to edit anyway if I wanna post it today ! Okay let’s get straight into it, or that video is gonna last hours ! I have my phone here,” Kyungsoo says as he shakes the device for his viewers to see, “Got the questions written down, so let’s get started !” He checks to see if Seungsoo is ready, and after a nod, he starts reading, “First question, who’s the oldest ?”

“I am, obviously !” Seungsoo answers, looking proud.

“He’s three years older. He was the beta version.”

“Shut up ! Wait, am I allowed to swear in your videos ?”

“See ? If you _did_ watch them, you’d know that !”

“I _do_ watch them !”

“Anyway ! Yes, you’re allowed. I mean I got Baekhyun in my videos often enough for the viewers to get used to his flourished language,” Kyungsoo points out, “Okay, question number two. Do you have any nicknames for each other ?”

“Go ahead.”

“Mmh, I don’t think I have one for you ? I mean I used to call you Teungtoo when I was very young cause I couldn’t pronounce your name, but other than that...”

“Oh god, you even butchered your own name. It was hilarious ! But yes, I think you mostly call me Hyung,” Seungsoo says and Kyungsoo nods at him, “And I just use a shorter version of your name. Is it okay to tell them ? They know it by now, don’t they ?”

“Yeah, probably,” Kyungsoo smiles, giving his brother the get go.

“Okay, so I call him Kyung’, most of the time.”

“Third question : What your funniest memory with the other ? Oh that’s gonna be hard.”

“Man, there’s so many ! You go first !”

“Okay wait, let me think...”

“As you can see, we’re very prepared !” Seungsoo snorts as he looks at the camera and Kyungsoo guffaws.

“Oh I got one ! It might not be the funniest but it was still pretty funny ! Do you remember when we went to Lotte World ? I think I was seven or eight, that time,” Kyungsoo says, turning a bit so he is half facing Seungsoo, “And I wanted to go into the House of Mirrors, but I was too scared to go alone.”

“Oh god, yes, mom told me to go with you,” Seungsoo nods, starting to chuckle as he remembers what happened next before munching on another candy and pushing one into his brother’s mouth.

Kyungsoo faces the camera again with a big smile as he chews.

“So we went in, and that thing is huge !”

“Yes, it’s really massive !”

“And so, we started trying to navigate and find our way out, but time passed and we were stuck. Like, we kept turning and turning but we really couldn’t find the exit,” Kyungsoo continues, hands moving in zig-zags and circles to illustrate his words.

“And then this baby started crying, cause he thought we were lost and we would never get out,” the older scoffs, “He was like ‘ _I want mommyyyy_ ’ !”, he mimics in a whiny high pitched voice, earning a playful backhand slap on his forearm.

“So Seungsoo Hyung took my hand and he started dragging me, walking really fast. But he was trying to calm me down at the same time and he wasn’t looking in front of him,” Kyungsoo stops talking as a chuckle finally makes his way out, “And he ran _straight_ into a glass panel, at full speed,” he explains, colliding his hands to emphasize, openly laughing now, “He fell over and his nose started bleeding like hell.”

“And that idiot stopped crying instantly and he started laughing so hard. And he had snot all over his mouth and chin and wet cheeks but I had never heard him laugh like before.”

“Well, you managed to make me stop crying at least !”

“I was literally laying on the floor bleeding all over my shirt !”

“But I remember you laughing too !” Kyungsoo counters, still giggling, reaching to grab a gummy bear.

“Of course ! Your face was hilarious. And you looked like you were having the time of your life, so I guess it was kind of worth destroying my face.”

“Mom scold you pretty badly for ruining your shirt, though,” Kyungsoo adds and his brother makes a distressed face at the reminder, “Now what’s _your_ funniest memory with me ?”

“Let me see... I don’t think it’s the funniest, but it’s probably one of my favorite. When you graduated high school, and we went on a trip to Europe together, without the parents.”

“Oh, yeah, that was an awesome experience,” Kyungsoo agrees, energetically nodding.

“There’re some pretty funny stuff that happened, but the trip as a whole is something I really enjoyed. It was nice spending time with you and experiencing new stuff on our own,” the oldest fondly says as he smiles at the camera, “If you want some recommendations of places to visit in Europe, we’ll give you some !”

“Yup, just ask in the comments ! Okay, you read the next one,” Kyungsoo requests, giving his phone to his brother.

“Number four...where is it... What is your most memorable argument ? Oh god...”

Kyungsoo starts laughing at the despair in Seungsoo’s tone, popping a new gummy candy in his mouth.

“You have one in mind already, don’t you ?”

“Yes. I mean, it’s not an argument per se, but... See, the thing is,” Seungsoo starts, shifting in his sit and staring at the camera as if to make eye contact with the viewers, “When we were younger, Kyungsoo used to get away with everything. Since he was the youngest, and he knew how to act cute when he had to, our parents would always brush off anything bad he did.” Next to him, Kyungsoo nods at the camera, snickering and looking almost proud, “And I was _always_ the one being blamed ! And it used to drive me crazy !”

“Yeah, I admit you got scolded a lot when it was actually my fault.”

“Exactly ! So one day, I think I was around fourteen, and you were ten ?” Seungsoo says, looking at his younger brother to check and getting an affirmative nod, “I don’t even remember what you did, but I got grounded. I hadn’t done _anything_ but I still got punished. The thing is, I was supposed to go to a friend’s birthday party that weekend. And I was so fucking mad !”

“Yeah, I remember,” Kyungsoo offers, looking sheepish.

“I bet you do,” his brother chortles, “I was so pissed off that I kinda took it out on him and pushed him.”

“You weren’t trying to hurt me, though. I just happened to be there when you were really upset. I mean, you didn’t purposefully push me because it was _my_ fault you got grounded... Or did you ?”

“I don’t know,” Seungsoo shrugs, “Maybe a bit of both. But still,” he continues, looking back at the camera, “I pushed him because he was talking to me like I hadn’t just got scolded because of him and I just couldn’t deal with him at that moment. Except we were near the stairs, and he fell and tumbled all the way down. And he broke his wrist.”

“I had to wear a cast for a month and a half.”

“I got sanctioned pretty severely for that, but I kinda deserved it so I didn’t really say anything. I still feel kinda guilty about it.”

“I like to remind him. Every time the season changes and my wrist gets sore.”

“You shithead,” Seungsoo laughs and pushes his brother who almost fall off his chair, grabbing his flailing hand at the last second to bring him back up.

“They grounded you for as long as I had my cast, right ?”

“Yeah, my girlfriend of that time broke up with me because of it. Since I had to go straight home as soon as I was done with school or extra activities. Hyunmi, if you see that video, I’m sorry for all the dates I had to cancel!” he ends, cackling.

“Are you guys still in contact ?” Kyungsoo asks out of pure curiosity as he looks at his brother with wide eyes, munching on a gummy bear.

“Yeah, we stayed friends. Okay, let’s keep going ! No wait, what was your most memorable argument we had ?”

“I can’t really think of one in particular. We used to argue a lot when we lived together with our parents, but it was never really big fights, even when we were both teenagers. Just regular sibling conflicts, you know,” he shrugs at the camera with a smile, “So yeah, I’ll go with the same.”

“Alright, question number five, then ! Were you competitive when you were younger ? And what about now ?”

“I don’t think we were, to be honest. We didn’t have the same hobbies so there was no real competition.”

“Yes, even in school. Our parents have always been pretty cool with all that. They didn’t push us into having the best grades ever. As long as we were having decent marks, they were okay.”

“Mmh, you were into math and scientific stuff, while I was more into arts, language and literature. So I guess there was no point into comparing us.”

“And even now, he studies something completely different from the field I work in. We have tons of interests in common, but none that could bring competition between us.”

“Perfect transition !” Kyungsoo chants, reading his phone screen. “Sixth question, what do you have in common ?”

“Ha ! Music ? I think we like the same kind of artists and songs,” Seungsoo says, “And beer, too. We always go out for a beer when we see each other,” he grins.

“Wait, you’re answering the next question,” Kyungsoo chortles, patting Seungsoo arm to make him slow down.

“What’s the next one ?”

“Do we hang out together and if yes, what do we do for fun.”

“Well, here you go. We go out for beer !”

“We don’t hang out together as much now as we used to, cause we don’t live together anymore.”

“Yes but now it feels like when we do see each other it’s more...I don’t know...”

“Meaningful ?” Kyungsoo suggests and his brother hums with a smile, “I agree. We’ve always been relatively close but now when we get to spend time together, we...well, really _spend_ _time together_. Even on the phone, we end up just talking about everything and anything for hours. Like... I don’t know, does that make sense ?” he asks, turning to the older as he makes a face.

“Yeah, don’t worry, they probably get it.”

“Okay, cool. So...beer. We watch movies together, too. That’s another thing we have in common, to answer the previous question.”

“Yes, honestly, we don’t do anything crazy like rock climbing or skydiving.”

“No, it’s pretty basic stuff, but it makes it fun to do it together, I guess. Oh, we do have the same sense of humor, though !”

“True !” Seungsoo enthusiastically confirms as he chews on a gummy bear, “Got that from our parents. Which...will be home very soon, so we should hurry the hell up !” he says after checking his watch.

“Okay, question number seven then, have you ever had a crush on any of each other’s friend ? Uh, can we skip that one ?” Kyungsoo says, face exaggerating the embarrassment he is feeling for the sake of the video.

“Yes please !” Seungsoo answers, acting equally as flustered but still throwing a few gummy bears in his mouth and popping two between his brother’s lips.

They exchange a knowing glance and a smile, because they’re both well aware of who they respectively had a crush on, before Kyungsoo’s eyes go back to his phone.

“Number eight ! Who is the best looking ?”

“I am,” Seungsoo asserts right away and Kyungsoo kicks his ankle, “What ? It’s true !”

“Everybody says we look a lot like each other, but okay, let’s pretend you are.”

“Hashtag I woke up like that,” the oldest says in a sassy voice, flipping imaginary hair above his shoulder earning a big and loud laugh from Kyungsoo.

“Please, don’t do that ever again.”

“Number nine !”

Seungsoo is about to grab the phone when the device rings in Kyungsoo’s hand.

“Wait, Baekhyun’s calling,” he says before tapping the answering icon and bringing the phone to his ear. “Hey Baek, I’m filming a video right now, can I call you back later ?” He pauses as his best friend answers him, “No, I’m with Seungsoo Hyung,” new pause, then, “Okay, wait, I’ll put you on speaker.”

A second later, Baekhyun’s voice echoes in the room.

“Hey Hyung !”

“Hi kiddo,” Seungsoo answers with a smile.

“Baek, say hello to the viewers !” Kyungsoo suggests, bringing his phone closer to the camera and checking Baekhyun’s derp picture he set to his contact is visible in the flip screen.

“Hey everyone ! Merry Christmas !” the boy chants and Kyungsoo cackles.

“So, can I call you back later ? We don’t have much time left to finish the video.”

“Sure !”

“Wait !” Seungsoo jumps in, “We’re doing a tag, and last question was who’s the best looking between Kyung’ and me. What do you think ?”

“Ah, sorry Hyung, but you know my everlasting love goes for Kyungsoo.”

Both brothers giggle, shaking their head.

“Thank you, Baek.”

“Always and forever, my Love ! Don’t forget to call me back !”

“I won’t ! Okay, where were we ?” he says after hanging up, “Question nine ! Who is the most creative ?”

“You are, five hundred percent. I’m just a potato. Next question,” Seungsoo declares in a resolute tone and Kyungsoo blushes a bit at the compliment.

“Number ten, what can you do that the other can’t ? Wait, the number eleven is ‘what’s each other greatest talent ?’ Let’s mix them to save time.”

“I’d say you can play a lot of instruments and sing, but that’s pretty obvious, so... Go ahead while I think about it.”

“Uhm...you can imitate animals sounds really well ?” Kyungsoo cracks and Seungsoo turns to him and instantly starts screaming like a goat before they both burst out laughing, Kyungsoo letting his forehead fall on his brother’s lap, almost crushing the bag of candies resting there.

It takes a few minutes before they finally calm down enough to speak intelligibly – they do try to keep going a few times but end up laughing more at each attempt, the older trying more animals between hiccups – until Seungsoo manages to get a hold of himself and grabs the phone to read the next question, bumping his shoulder against his teary-eyed brother’s to prompt him to focus.

“Twelve, what was the last text you sent each other ?”

Kyungsoo takes his phone back to open the message app and scrolls up a bit.

“The last thing _you_ sent me was...” he pauses, squinting his eyes to read the tiny words, “Last night, on your way home. ‘ _Got stuck into the toilet stall at the motorway service station earlier, so fucking embarrassing. Jiyeon’s still laughing right now..._ ’. Before commenting on that, I just wanna say, he wasn’t driving when he texted me that, his girlfriend was.”

“Yes, don’t text and drive, be safe !” Seungsoo adds. “We don’t need to comment, though...”

“I wish I could’ve been here,” Kyungsoo just says, “And the last thing I sent you...”

Before he even can scroll to check, Seungsoo answers for him.

“About an hour ago, I was downstairs and you sent me ‘ _Get your ass up here, I got the camera ready_ ’.”

“I’m always so polite,” the younger laughs, switching apps once more to get the remaining questions on his screen.

“Yes, very respectful, aren’t you ?” his brother says as he shoves him with a big teasing smile.

“Question number thirteen, what is the thing that annoys you the most about the other ? Oh my god this is gonna be bad,” the red-haired male snorts, already knowing what was coming and Seungsoo shifts in his chair to face the camera, as if what he had to say was utterly important.

“Alright so, I’m sorry but I think it’s my job to tell your viewers that you are not as perfect as they think !”

“They definitely _don’t_ think that, but go ahead,” Kyungsoo snickers, leaning back in his sit and stuffing his mouth with gummy bears.

“First, Kyungsoo has this habit, when he leaves a room at night, to automatically turn off the lights... Even if there is still someone in the room !” Seungsoo explains and Kyungsoo laughs again, “He does that since he’s little, I don’t know what’s wrong with him !”

“I’m saving electricity !”

“Okay whatever ! Next thing, when we were younger, he used to come in my bedroom while I wasn’t there, and do his little shopping in my closet ! I never understood that because we don’t even wear the same size of clothes !” he exclaims, turning to look at Kyungsoo who merely shrugs and keep giggling, “Oh, also ! Still when we were younger, whenever I had friends over, he would always, always try to hang out with us !”

“Well that kind of throws back to the crush question,” Kyungsoo provides, amused.

“Yes, but still !”

“Are you done ?”

“Yes. Wait no,” Seungsoo turns back to the camera, “He also eats his toasts really weirdly,” he states, earning a loud laugh from Kyungsoo, before he proudly nods, “Okay, I’m done now. Your turn.”

“It’s not that weird !” the youngest counters, his palms rubbing his cheeks as they hurt from too much smiling.

“Yes it is ! He starts by eating the four sides, then he folds it,” Seungsoo explains, illustrating his words for the camera with hand movements, “Then he eats the four corners,” Kyungsoo laughs loudly again, “Then he munches on what’s left like a hamster !”

“So what ?”

“So it’s weird !” the oldest shouts, joining his brother in his fit of laughter.

“Man, I’m not supposed to edit this video, but we’ve been recording for thirty minutes already.”

“No, no, no ! Don’t cheat ! No editing !” Seungsoo jokingly scolds, “I don’t want you to cut out all that I just said about how annoying you are !”

“Okay, okay !” Kyungsoo lifts his hand in a defensive pose, “I won’t. Let’s get going then ! What’s the next question ?” he asks, since his brother had grabbed his phone.

“Don’t you wanna tell them what annoys you the most about me ?” Seungsoo snickers, cocking an eyebrow.

“Oh, right. Well, the worse thing is that he cracks his knuckles, and I _hate_ when people do that ! The sound gives me legitimate chills, I can’t stand it !” he says, a shiver running along his spine just thinking about it.

“Yes, don’t crack your knuckles near him, he _will_ bite you. For real. I think Baekhyun and I still have a few teeth marks here and there,” the older brother nods, rubbing his upper arm through his sweater, most likely to show the viewers where he has some of those bite marks, “Anything else ?” he then asks.

“Well, when we were kids, you used the fact that you were older to boss me around. That was super annoying too. You don’t do that as much, now.”

“I don’t wanna end up in a choke hold, that’s why. He’s been bulking up, I don’t wanna risk it,” Seungsoo deadpans, looking straight at the camera as he pokes at his brother’s abs and Kyungsoo chortles once again, pushing his hand away, “Okay, next one, what do you like the most about the other ?”

“You go first.”

“Do you need time to think because there are too many things you love about me ?” the oldest asks cutely, pinching his brother’s cheek and getting his hand slapped away once again, “Okay, what do I like about you...” he says, pretending to think really hard as he eats one of the last gummy candy.

“You had so much more stuff to say for the last question, it’s offending !”

“I’m kidding,” Seungsoo laughs, dodging the playful punch Kyungsoo throws on his shoulder, “I think what I like the most about you, or actually, it’s the thing I _admire_ the most, rather than just liking it. It’s how level-headed you are,” he explains, squinting his eyes as he tries to find the right words, “Like, you rarely get really mad, and you tend to be the one mediating a conflict. Even if you’re incredibly stubborn,” he adds, rolling his eyes, “And it also shows with all the YouTube thing. Success didn’t get to your head, you’re still pretty modest and down to earth and you deal with everything in a very humble way. That’s something that I’m quite proud of,” he ends, sending a content smile to his brother, who in turn can’t help but teasing him.

“Aw, you’re proud of me,” Kyungsoo coos, both hands on his hearts.

“Of course I am !” Seungsoo grins, before making a face, “Okay, you’re allowed to edit this part, but just to add an emotional piano music and, I don’t know, a pink filter or something. Your turn now.”

“Well, I would say that it’s the fact that you’ve always had my back ? Like, you always stood up for me when we were younger,” he nods to himself, “Every time someone was teasing me, or bullying me, even if it wasn’t a big deal, you were always there to defend me. You even fought a few times.”

“Well, that’s what big brothers are for, right ?” Seungsoo gently smiles and bumps his knee against Kyungsoo’s thigh.

“I guess, yes. You still kinda do it even nowadays, actually. Even if you don’t really need to.”

“Must be instinctive, I don’t really think about it, to be honest,” Seungsoo shrugs, still smiling.

“I’ll add a bit more emotional music here,” Kyungsoo snorts, “Okay, next question ! Oh wait, and it’s the last one !”

“Finally!”

“Alright, so, describe each other in three words !” Kyungsoo reads, “Well the whole tag kind of answered that but...”

“Let’s do it anyway, it’s the last one. And let’s keep it positive !”

“Okay so, for you I’d say... Caring ! Smart, too. And...”

“I would say Strong for you,” Seungsoo starts.

“Oh and Funny ! You’re pretty funny, yeah.”

“Thanks !” the oldest chuckles, “So yes, Strong, Responsible ? And… Artistic !”

“Woohoo, we made it !” Kyungsoo singsongs before placing his phone on the desk.

“That was fun !”

“It was ! Alright, let’s wrap this up !” he nods, turning to the camera, “We really have to go now, but I hope you guys liked that Christmas special video ! Thank you for watching it ! I’ll still upload next week cover on Thursday, this one is kind of a bonus !”

“Last week’s cover was really good, by the way !” Seungsoo interrupts him.

“Oh, so you _do_ watch my videos !”

“I told you I did ! Okay maybe not _all of them_ , but a lot !”

“Well, you better watch this one and comment ! You guys too ! Like, share, comment, and subscribe if you still haven’t !”

“Which you should definitely have already, though !” Seungsoo asserts, squinting his eyes in a fake threatening look, “And go follow him on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat ! All the links are in the description box down below !” he says, pointing downward.

“Wow, like a real youtuber !” Kyungsoo scoffs, “Also, tell us if you want us to make other videos together, I think we could make that happen.”

“And comment who you think is the better looking !” the oldest requests, subtly pointing his thumb towards his own chest as he mouths a “ _me, choose me_ ” at the camera.

“Okay, stop influencing them,” Kyungsoo laughs, grabbing his brother’s hand.

Seungsoo then uses their joined palms to yank his brother next to him and places his free arm around Kyungsoo’s neck as the both face the camera. Kyungsoo snorts and tilts his head to lightly bump the older’s temple, but doesn’t withdraw from the side hug. He then grabs the hand around him, leaning on his brother even more as Seungsoo makes a finger heart.

“Hope you’re having a wonderful Christmas, wherever in the world you are. Take care, everyone ! See you soon !”

They both happily wave at the camera before Seungsoo lifts his hand and ruffles Kyungsoo’s hair. The younger dodges with a chuckle and leans forward to stop the recording just as they hear the front door opening and their mom calling out their names.

“What a perfect timing !” Seungsoo chants.

“Okay, go and check if your girlfriend isn’t traumatized while I tidy everything up,” the younger brother advises before laughing when Seungsoo gasps and briskly walks out of the room to go, “By the way,” he shouts to the man already at the end of the hallways, “Thank for agreeing on doing that video !”

“No problem !” Seungsoo yells back, “Your viewers love me anyway !”.

  
♪♫

  
By the end of the weekend, Kyungsoo has stored tons of awesome new memories with his family, and the surely-future-addition to it, since his parents obviously loved Jiyeon, and Seungsoo seems completely whipped. That also gave Kyungsoo some good teasing material, seeing how his brother’s eyes were throwing hearts in the air every time his girlfriend was talking or laughing. Or just existing, basically. Kyungsoo really likes her too and she got along with the whole family really easily, and since the couple’s relationship seems pretty serious, he’s happy that he got to spend time with her too.

She had even gotten him a perfume and a stylish button-down shirt for Christmas, proving she indeed had the great taste Seungsoo had been praising a few times. His brother had surprised him by getting him a vlogging camera – “I saw the comments”, he said, “They want you to vlog.” –, while his parents had gotten him wireless headphones and a designer wrist watch with a see-through case that let you see the whole mechanics inside.  
It’s with all his new possessions packed in his full suitcase that Kyungsoo settles in his sit inside the train that will take him back to Seoul that Sunday evening. He waves at his brother through the window, since the older had volunteered to drive him to the train station. He can’t help but be a bit sad that he has to leave them so soon. Even more when he thinks of _why_ he needs to go back to K-arts. The prospect of having to go through another few weeks of intense dance sessions isn’t something he’s exactly thrilled about. But as the train leaves the station, he comforts himself thinking that he will see his brother sooner than expected, the man having a business trip in Seoul luckily happening during Kyungsoo’s birthday. They already arranged everything for Seungsoo to crash at his place during the whole week and as the regular hum of the trains relaxes him, he lazily smiles, happy that they will be able to spend more time together.  
And when he finally settles in this bed later that night, he manages to give himself some motivation to endure the physical pain he will be in during the following weeks.

Although the messages Jongin sent him earlier this day might have something to do with it.  
 

**NiniPoodle**  
_Hey hyung ! Sorry I wasn’t able to write you much this weekend !_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Christmas had been kinda crazy here xD !_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I just watched your video with your brother tho ! My abs hurt, I laughed too hard !_

**NiniPoodle**  
_You’re probably in the train back to campus rn ^-^_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I wanted to wish you luck for the rest of the winter session !_

**NiniPoodle**  
_FIGHTING HYUNG ! YOU CAN DO IT !_

  
♪♫

  
The following week is filled with intense dance practices, every day from 9am to 7pm, and Kyungsoo comes home every night completely drained and sore. He forces himself to eat, mostly because Jongin keeps texting him, every evening at 7:30pm sharp, which is _coincidentally_ around the time Kyungsoo passes through his apartment front door. Then he takes a long shower, kneading his aching muscles under the hot water stream, just as Jongin has tried to describe, until the pain has subsided a bit. By the time he falls on his bed, eyes already half closed, he takes a second to praise himself for pre-recording and editing a few cover videos before the winter session started, enough to be able to upload one every week until the program ends. At this point, he is not sure his arms could even hold the light weight of his ukulele.

Don’t get him wrong, Sehun is helping him a lot, and Kyungsoo might admit there are some moments when he finds he’s actually enjoying himself trying some steps. But as nice and encouraging as the tall boy is, he definitely doesn’t let Kyungsoo slack off.  
Kyungsoo had been a tad irked by his bossy attitude at the beginning of the week, and he tried to argue that he wasn’t as fit as the younger and didn’t need to present a spectacular routine to pass the winter session program exam. But then Sehun had retorted, looking as irritated as Kyungsoo felt, that he too would be judged based on the choreography. After all, his goal was to be a dance teacher, that’s why he had volunteered to be part of the helping students. And the final variation they would present to the teachers would reflect his teaching skills. Even more than that, since he would be dancing too. He wasn’t supposed to have an official grade on this, but some of his own teachers would be part of the judges.  
So Kyungsoo had promptly closed his mouth, looking sheepish, before he apologized and nodded, letting Sehun correct his hips and legs positions once again. After that, he mentally promised himself to give his best and not disappoint his temporary instructor. And in return, Sehun had made an effort and tried to be more patient with his pupil, enabling them to be more efficient.

Friday evening finally arrives and finds the two students about to pack their stuff after another long day full of jumps and twirls. The contemporary choreography Sehun and him had started to create was based on Kyungsoo’s principal skill : a perfect sense of rhythm. Every single movement, sharp or slow, falling on beats and off-beats was designed to highlight that. Yet, Kyungsoo was bothered by something. He hadn’t been able to pinpoint it so far, but as the day went by, his frown deepened and Sehun had ended up cutting the practice short an hour earlier.

“We can’t work properly if you’re not focused on what you’re doing, hyung,” the tall boy says when Kyungsoo tries once again to tell him they still have the studio for fifty minutes.

By some miracle – read : the girl managing the dance studios’ schedule having a crush on the younger – Sehun had been able to book one of the small studio for the whole winter session, so they could be alone during their practice, while other students had to share some of the bigger ones.

“I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo sighs, “It’s just, I feel like there’s something missing. But I don’t know what ?” he ends in a confused tone, putting his coat on.

“About the routine itself ?” Sehun asks as he locks the door after them and they lazily walk to the front desk the drop the keys.

“The moves are great, that’s not the problem. But you said it was supposed to be...personal ?”

“Sort of, yes. To some extent, at least. The music we chose should do the trick, though, since it’s special to you.”

Sehun is right. The song they agreed on after Kyungsoo suggested it was indeed very important to him. But still, he wasn’t sure it was _personal_ enough. As they step in the cold winter wind and stop in front of the building entrance like they do every night to talk a bit before they part ways, Kyungsoo buries half of his face in his thick scarf. Not enough to hide his furrowed eyebrows apparently, and Sehun chuckles.

“Look, let’s just take the weekend to think about it. And on Monday we’ll see what we can do, yeah ?” the dancer smiles and shoves a beanie on his head, making sure to cover his ears from the freezing breeze.

Kyungsoo sighs again, warm air heating the wool covering his mouth, voice muffled by the fabric as he agrees.

“Besides, it’s New Year’s Eve tomorrow. So don’t stress about the choreo,” Sehun reassures him with a sniffle, white puffs of breath swirling in the freezing night. “By the way...” he continues, suddenly looking at the ground as he scratches the tip of his sneakers against the gravel, hands in his coat’s pockets. Kyungsoo sniffles too and lifts his eyes toward him, “Do you have any plans ? For tomorrow night ?” Sehun questions in a voice that he probably wants nonchalant but actually sounds a bit apprehensive.

“Yeah, I’m going to a party with my friends,” Kyungsoo answers, curious about the dancer’s sudden shyness, “Why ? Don’t you have anything planned ? Do you wanna come with us ? You can, if you want !” he offers quickly, worried at the idea of the boy spending the celebration night alone, “My friends won’t mind at all !”

“No, no, it’s fine. I mean, I have plans. With...friends, too. That’s why... I mean, yeah it’s fine. I was just curious,” he ends, flashing a bright smile at Kyungsoo, eyes cutely crinkling.

  
♪♫

  
\--------------Sunday, January 1st--------------

**NiniPoodle**  
_HAPPY NEW YEAR HYUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNG :)))))))))))_

**Kyungsoo**  
_happy new year Jongin_

**Kyungsoo**  
_again…_

**NiniPoodle**  
_??_

**Kyungsoo**  
_you don’t remember calling me at 4am, do you ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_O.O_

**Kyungsoo**  
_how’s your butt ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Wut_

**Kyungsoo**  
_...does it hurt ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Wait hoW DO YOU KNOW O.O ????????_

  
Kyungsoo laughs as he reads the younger’s message. He buries himself further under his thick blanket, sinking on his pillow, before he starts typing again. He had planned on getting out of his bed to find some painkillers, head still throbbing from the amount of alcohol he gulped down during the previous night’s party, but he supposes he can endure that a bit longer. Talking to Jongin often has a soothing effect on him anyway.  
 

**Kyungsoo**  
_from what I got, you fell pretty hard when we were on the phone_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Omg -_-‘_

**Kyungsoo**  
_but you were happy tho_

**Kyungsoo**  
_you were drunk out of your mind_

**Kyungsoo**  
_you shouted ‘hyung I broke my ass but I saved my phone !”_

**NiniPoodle**  
_*hides*_

**Kyungsoo**  
_don’t, it was hilarious xD_

**Kyungsoo**  
_you helped me finishing the night on a happy note_

**NiniPoodle**  
_??_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Did something happen before ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_kinda_

**Kyungsoo**  
_someone popped up at the party my friends and I were at_

**Kyungsoo**  
_someone I didn’t wanna see_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Who was it ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I mean if you don’t mind me asking_

  
For a few seconds, Kyungsoo considers if he should tell Jongin, having so far skirted around the topic. But then he decides he can still stay vague while giving some information.  
 

**Kyungsoo**  
_my ex_

**NiniPoodle**  
_:/_

**Kyungsoo**  
_it’s not someone I really wanna be around with anymore so it kinda killed the mood_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I’m sorry :(_

**Kyungsoo**  
_for what ??_

**NiniPoodle**  
_That...the person ruined your night ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_it’s fine_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Does your ex know that you don’t wanna see her ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Or him ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Them ? xD idk_

  
Kyungsoo should be glad Jongin is considerate enough not to assume things. He is. But he hesitates nonetheless. He knows from past experiences that the people who seem the most open-minded can prove to be the biggest assholes when they find out he is into boys. Not that he really thinks the dancer could be that kind of person. But an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as the saying goes. So he grabs the opportunity Jongin gave him to go with the neutral pronoun.  
 

**Kyungsoo**  
_yeah they know_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I made it pretty clear when I saw them again recently_

**Kyungsoo**  
_not that it stopped them from trying tho_

**NiniPoodle**  
_That sucks level 8000_

**Kyungsoo**  
_yup_

**Kyungsoo**  
_but it’s okay_

**Kyungsoo**  
_Baekhyun was at the party too so I mostly spent the whole time with him_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Oh ! How is he btw ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I remember you told me he sounded weird on the phone when you talked to him on Christmas, right ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_tbh I don’t know_

**Kyungsoo**  
_he’s been looking kinda down lately but he keeps telling me he’s fine_

**Kyungsoo**  
_and I don’t wanna force him to talk to me if he doesn’t want to, you know_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I hope he’ll be better soon !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_Same._

**NiniPoodle**  
_You know what ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Scratch that_

**NiniPoodle**  
_He definitely will !_

**NiniPoodle**  
_He has you :)_

**Kyungsoo**  
_?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Idk I feel like you always have each other’s back_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Like…keeping each other grounded if one of you is feeling down ?_

**NiniPoodle**  
_You can hold onto each other, that’s what I mean_

**NiniPoodle**  
_When either one feels unsteady_

  
Kyungsoo frowns, re-reading Jongin’s words, something ticking in the back of his memory.

  
**NiniPoodle**  
_Sorry xD_

**NiniPoodle**  
_That sounded weird xD_

**NiniPoodle**  
_My sisters are forcing me to watch too many chick flicks these days xD_

**Kyungsoo**  
_it’s fine_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I didn’t mean to imply anything !_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I know you two are just best friends_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Right :/ ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_Jongin it’s okay I didn’t take it like that_

**Kyungsoo**  
_don’t worry_

**Kyungsoo**  
_but sorry I have to go_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I’ll talk to you later_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Hyung wait are you mad ? :(_

**NiniPoodle**  
_I’m really sorry !!_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I’m not_

**Kyungsoo**  
_really_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I’ll text you later_

**NiniPoodle**  
_Okay :(_

  
Feeling a bit guilty, Kyungsoo exits the app and open his text messages. He didn’t mean to worry Jongin or make him sad, but the dancer’s words sparked an idea in his mind and he started to feel excited right as it triggered his creative mind.  
He quickly finds the contacts he is looking for and starts typing at lighting speed.

  
To : **Oh Sehun**

11:32am-  
_I just got an idea for the choreo !! that would require that we change the song but I think we can still work with most of the moves we already have ! I just need to do a little something before I tell you more about it, but I really REALLY hope you’ll like it !!!_

  
And he only has the time to get off his bed and make his way to the kitchen before Sehun writes back.  
 

From : **Oh Sehun**

11:34pm-  
_Wow ok u sound excited AF! I like the enthusiasm! Can’t wait to see what it’s about!_

  
With a big smile, he locks his phone, swallows two painkillers with a glass of fresh water and makes a beeline to his music room, sitting down on the stool in front of his synthesizer. He reaches for the black binder laying on the ground under the instrument and starts flipping through the partitions, going back to the songs he had learned how to play a couple of years back.  
When his eyes finally find the one he is looking for, he sets the pages on the music sheets holder and takes a deep breath, smiling at the cat doodle in the top corner, unmistakably Baekhyun’s art.  
Kyungsoo knows he is being more reckless with this than he should, but the excitation he feels is pushing him to be a tad more impulsive than he’d usually be. Seungsoo would probably frown. Or scold him. Or laugh at him. Or a combination of the three. Probably. Definitely.

Another deep inhale, and his fingers starts lightly pressing the keys.

  
Two hours later, he sends the audio file he just finished editing to Sehun. It could be better, and if Sehun agrees, he’ll definitely have to record a cleaner version of it. But this first draft will have to do for now. His hands are still shaking, a mix of excitement, hope, apprehension and frustration – the last one because his drums just wouldn’t cooperate with him earlier. Forcing himself to calm down, he then texts the boy to tell him to go and check his emails, and asks him to be bluntly honest about the paragraph he wrote, explaining his idea with as much details as he could. Of course, he tried to be realistic considering his dance skills – or rather the lack of them – but he knows some of his ideas might still be a bit utopic.  
However, even if he was able to perfectly execute what he has in mind, there is still one big question mark above the whole thing.  
He has no way of being sure Sehun would still _want_ to dance with him now.

Kyungsoo then busies himself by putting together a quick snack, munching on his toast as he throws a look to his phone every ten seconds.  
Sehun hasn’t texted back yet when he finishes eating, and the Composition major tries to convince himself that it’s only because he hasn’t open the email yet, and not because he is avoiding him. So he steps in the shower, since he has nothing better to do while he waits.

He just finished dressing himself when his phone rings and the hip hop ringtone he set for Sehun echoes in his bedroom.  
Carefully, he grabs the device and answers the call, biting his lips.

“Hey...”

“Hyung !” Sehun gasps.

“Yes ?”

“Hyung oh my god !”

“W- what ?”

Now he’s getting even more worried.

“This is perfect ! Holy crap it’s awesome !”

“Really ?”

Let’s not acknowledge the way his voice wobbled here, please.

“Yes I’m serious ! I knew the song already but your cover is amazing ! We’re definitely using it ! You don’t even need to make a better version, this is one has raw emotions and it’s perfect ! Don’t touch it ! And your ideas are wow too ! I love everything about it ! We’ll make it work, don’t worry ! Crap, I’m so excited ! This is gonna be awesome !” he says without pausing and Kyungsoo chuckles.

“Okay, breathe,” the older advices gently.

“No but I mean it ! I started having ideas coming up when I was listening to your cover, I can totally include all you explained and make it doable for you ! I mean, you need to be ready to work your ass off on this but I’m sure you can do it. We can do it together !”

 Kyungsoo beams at nothing, alone in his room, tightening his grip on his phone.

“I just have a question,” he says.

“Yeah ?”

“For the presentation, will the other students be in the room too ?” he asks, chewing on the inside of his cheek, “The ones from the winter sessions. And the other Dance majors.”

“Why ?”

“Well, not everyone knows about...me,” Kyungsoo hesitates, hoping Sehun will understand what he means, since he kind of had to talk about it in his email.

“Oh... No, just you, me and the teachers judging us,” the younger says gently and Kyungsoo can hear the smile in his voice.

“Okay, good. So if we really do this...could you...keep that to yourself too ? I would really appreciate,” he asks, “You know, with the whole YouTube thing, it could spread like wildfire and I don’t exactly wanna have to deal with it. At least not now yet...”

“Sure Hyung ! No problem,” Sehun answers right away, clearly trying to reassure Kyungsoo, “I know someone in the same situation, so I _totally_ get it. I won’t tell anyone, promise.”

“Thank you, Sehun.”

“Of course ! Okay, I gotta go, I have to start trying some moves for our awesome duet ! Sesoo in da place !”

“Sesoo ?” Kyungsoo snorts, “Did you just made up a ship name for us ?”

“Yeah, we gonna nail this ! Trust me ! See you tomorrow hyung !”

And later that night, after sending a goodnight text to Jongin – to which the boy replies with way too many cute emojis –, he falls asleep surprising himself being genuinely impatient to _dance_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know. Y’all want to throw pebbles at me right now. So please, just…make sure they’re not too sharp if you wanna aim at my face xD.  
> I know that, right now, a lot of you might be like ‘Gurl hurry the F up !”. So I’m gonna make a promise here ! They WILL meet IRL soon. VERY soon ! Pinky promise !
> 
> I wanted to write more of Seungsoo because….well because I wanted to xD ! I really wanted to give a """little bit""" of background to Kyungsoo in a non-boring way ! But I got a little carried away in the firs scene xD.  
> I hope I managed to do that, though, and that you liked it as much as I liked writing the scene ! Did it make you laugh ? Or smile, at least ?


	10. Chapter 10

It’s to the sound of his own voice that Kyungsoo enters the small dance studio on this January 2nd. And before he even has the time to close the door behind him, Sehun is already hopping towards him, a ten-thousand-watt smile illuminating his boyish face.

“Hyung ! Come here, I need to try something with you !” he singsongs, grabbing Kyungsoo arm and dragging him to the center of the room.

The Composition major chortles and abandons his backpack along the way. Apparently, he’ll have to postpone his daily text to Jongin to assure him he safely got there. The boy isn’t gonna be happy.

“Wait, Sehun, there’s something I wanna ask you before we start !” he confesses when the dancer shows him a move.

Sehun stands back up from his crouched position and throws him a questioning look, taking a tiny remote from the pocket of his loose sweatpants to turn the music off.

“What is it ?”

Kyungsoo scratches the back of his neck, last night’s nervousness resurfacing. He knows Sehun has agreed with the ideas he gave him in his email, but he can’t help but wanting to be extra sure. So far, the previous routine they had put together mostly had them standing side by side, with very few physical interactions. He really just need to hear Sehun say out loud he’s okay with everything.

“Well...the way I envision the routine, like I explained in my email, it’s...a bit... I mean, I don’t wanna make you feel...uncomfortable ?” he tries, looking up at the tall boy with hesitation.

“Uncomfortable ?”

“Uhm... You know...touching another man in a...sensual way…”

Clearly, _he_ is the uncomfortable one right now.

“Hyung,” Sehun chuckles, “Being a dancer also means being an actor. I don’t have to relate to the story I’m telling. As long as I’m able to carry the emotions I want, I don’t necessarily have to _feel_ them.”

If Kyungsoo already had a high level of respect for the boy’s dancing skills, he can now say he is amazed by his open-mindedness too.

“All the duets you see,” Sehun continues, “The ones dancing on love songs. They’re in fact rarely performed by real couples. It’s like when you did that cover of Matt Nathanson’s Wedding Dress ! I’m sure you couldn’t really relate to the situation. Except if you’re secretly married to a girl... But we wouldn’t have this conversation if you were,” he grins with a knowing look, “You still conveyed the sad emotions of the song, though. Do you get what I mean ?”

“I think so ?”

Sehun hasn’t exactly said the words Kyungsoo wanted to hear, but he guesses this should be enough of a reassurance. However, his slight hesitation must be visible on his face, because Sehun lifts his lanky arm and pokes Kyungsoo’s shoulder, beaming at him.

“I won’t be uncomfortable,” he declares with confidence, “I don’t mind having to hold you in my arms or being super close to you, really. And it’s not like you’re unpleasant to look at,” he ends with a wink, before he laughs again when Kyungsoo punches his upper arm.

“Shut up.”

“Will _you_ be okay with it ?” Sehun teases with a smirk, cocking his eyebrow and Kyungsoo throws him a confused look, “I mean I’m attractive, won’t you be all flustered dancing so close to me ?”

It’s Kyungsoo’s turn to chortle.

“If I ever feel attracted, I’ll just have to make you talk. That’ll break the spell instantly,” he sassily asserts and Sehun snorts.

“Okay then. Let’s get into it !”

  
♪♫

  
\--------------Monday, January 2nd--------------

 **NiniPoodle**  
_So how was practice today ?_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_I felt like dying half of the time_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_the other half I wanted to kill Sehun_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_so I guess it went well_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_xD hahaha_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Was he mean ?_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_nah he just doesn’t get I can’t bend THAT far down_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_..._

 **Kyungsoo**  
_nor can I spread my legs THAT much_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_…………._

 **Kyungsoo**  
_?_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Are we still talking about dancing here o.O ?....._

 **Kyungsoo**  
_what ?_

 **_Kyungsoo_ **  
_omg JONGIN_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_WHAT_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_WTF_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_YOU STARTED IT WITH THE BENDING xD_

 

\--------------Tuesday, January 3rd--------------

 **Kyungsoo**  
_I didn’t know it was possible for abs to cramp_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_#DancersProblem_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_#howdoyoustopthis_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_#WaitForItToPass_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_#uselessfriend_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_#YouReWelcome x’D_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_#stfu I am in PAIN_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Awwww_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Want me to run a hot bath for you xD ?_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_gtfo let me die in peace_

  
“You’re talking with him like you’re talking to me. I don’t like it,” Baekhyun pouts later that day from his spot on the couch, Kyungsoo’s phone in his hands.

Kyungsoo steps out of the kitchen holding two mugs of coffee and sighs.

“You need to stop going through my messages every time I turn my back.”

“Don’t leave your phone where I can touch it then. I never like what I read in here.”

“Then stop reading !” he scoffs as he sits next to his best friend.

“I can’t. I need to check. And from what I see, you’re BFF-cheating on me.”

“No I’m not.”

“With a chicken !

“Seriously, Baek-“

“I’ve been out-friended by a dancing poultry !” the older shrieks.

“There, there,” Kyungsoo chuckles, patting Baekhyun’s messy hair, “Don’t worry, I still love my annoying bunny the most.”

“You fucking better ! I’m not giving you up to that best-friend-thief.”

 

\--------------Wednesday, January 4th--------------

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Rahee doesn’t wanna play with me anymore :(_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_what a tragedy_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_You’re so mean_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_okay what can I do then_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Play with me instead_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_what are you ? 5yo ?_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_See ? Mean :(_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_fine_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_what game were you playing with her ?_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_She was the doctor and I was the patient_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_But she left cause I kept faking new injuries_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_so….._

 **Kyungsoo**  
_you want me to play “““doctor””” with you….._

 **NiniPoodle**  
_HYUNG NO OMG_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_hey you started it this time !!_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Great now my dad’s asking me why I’m looking at my phone like that : O.O_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_good luck explaining_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN  D:_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_hehe xD_

 

\--------------Thursday, January 5th--------------

 **Kyungsoo**  
_I hate being sweaty_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_and why the fuck is there so many French words in dance vocabulary_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Je ne sais pas_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_okay you smartass_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Bonjour comment ca va ?_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Oui, non, merci beaucoup_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_J’aime les croissants ?_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_…good for you_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Do you like baguettes ?_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_you’re so cliché it hurts_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Sorry xD_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_okay gotta go. Sehun’s bossing me around again_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Bon courage !_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_stop it_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_BTW ! Can’t wait for your video tonight !_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_good. I think you should like it_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_What song is it :D ???_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_pshh like I’m gonna tell you_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_RUDE !_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_You never tell me !!!_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_I ALWAYS TELL YOU FOR MY VIDEOS_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_your problem, not mine_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_ToT_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_So mean_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_bye Jongin_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Bye hyung :P_

  
♪♫

  
It’s Friday. Just a few more hours to go through and he’ll be able to go home and sleep for two days straight.  
That’s what Kyungsoo has been mentally repeating himself like a motto throughout the whole day. It’s only 4pm, but he can’t feel his legs anymore, and after he tripped when Sehun was pulling him against his chest, almost making them topple down, the dancer had allowed him to take a few minutes to rest.

The choreography was finished by now, the only thing left to do was to master it. Which was unfortunately the hardest part. Some elements were freaking him out and the amount of trust he needed to have in Sehun was not one Kyungsoo was used to give to somebody so early in their friendship.  
But so far, the younger had never let him down, figuratively and literally. So Kyungsoo was willing to try. Plus, he really loves the whole routine. The Dance major perfectly captured the emotions Kyungsoo wanted to express, bodies telling a story of love and pain, of doubts and trust. A story of hope.

Baekhyun had seen parts of it in short videos Kyungsoo had sent to him, and he had spent a good ten minutes praising him, assuring him in a surprisingly non-teasing voice he was doing really good. And with the same comments coming from Sehun, Kyungsoo felt more and more confident every passing day.

“Hyung ! Let’s take a picture !” Sehun suddenly says, taking long steps towards where Kyungsoo stands, checking his phone to see if he got any messages.

“Wait, I’m all sweaty, what the hell !” he answers, backing away from the excited boy.

“It’s okay ! Me too !” the dancers dismisses, “C’mere !”

Sehun swiftly positions himself behind Kyungsoo and loops his left arm around the older’s neck, grabbing his hand as his right one lifts his own phone in front of them.

“Say Viviiiii !”

“What ?”

“That’s my dog’s name. Smile !”

Kyungsoo lets out a big laugh, eyes scrunched up, facing Sehun’s phone as the boy snaps a few shots in different angles. Once Sehun is happy with the picture – Kyungsoo honestly doesn’t see why he had to take so many, but that’s not the point – the boy leaps away and Kyungsoo kneels next to his backpack to rest a bit more.

He’s in the middle of swallowing big gulps of water from his bottle when he hears a very familiar _woosh_ and his head quickly turns to see Sehun sitting on the floor, mischievously smiling down at his phone

“Did you just sent that picture to someone ?”

“No !” the boy answers, way too hastily.

“Sehun,” Kyungsoo threatens.

“I didn’t !”

“Give me your phone.”

“You don’t trust me ?”

“Nope, give me your phone !” Kyungsoo orders, crawling on all four towards the boy.

Sehun yelps and starts moving away, heels pushing himself backwards so his butt slides on the smooth wooden floor. Unfortunately, the technique doesn’t allow him to be fast enough and Kyungsoo manages to grab his ankle and yanks the tall boy, pulling him forward. A minute of flailing limbs later, he finally circles his legs around Sehun’s chest from behind him, blocking the boy’s arms in the bend of his knees and snatching the phone out of his hands. Sehun thrashes for a few seconds, trying to extricate himself from the hold. He’s still whining and giggling at the same time when the distinctive cute sound of a new Kakaotalk message rings.

“Crap. Hyung, set me freeeee !”

Bodies sprawled on the floor, Kyungsoo tighten his grip a bit more, making sure the boy can’t move, before he takes a look at the screen. Here, right under the selfie they took, capitalized words and typos scream at the phone’s owner.  
 

 **NiniPoodle**  
_OH SEHUN WHAT THE FUCKK DO YUO THINK YOU’REDOING ??????_

  
“I surrender !” Sehun whines as Kyungsoo’s eyes are fixed on the bunch of angry-face emojis appearing on the screen, “Hyung ?” he says when Kyungsoo keeps staring at the phone.

“NiniPoodle ? Wait, you-” the older utters in disbelief, “Jongin ? You _do_ know Jongin !” he exclaims, suddenly remembering said boy mentioning Sehun’s name out of the blue a couple of weeks ago.

“Uh, yes ?”

“How ?!” Kyungsoo shouts, eyes wide open starring down at Sehun’s head still laying on his chest.

“He’s my best friend.”

“Oh...”

“Yeah. Can you let me go, now ?” Kyungsoo finally loosens his hold and Sehun crawls away until he deems he’s at a safe distance from his previous captor, “He kinda freaked out on the first day of the winter session,” Sehun says, massaging his elbows, “When I told him I was gonna be the one teaching you.”

“Why ?”

Sehun sends him a weird look, blinking at him as if he was dumb.

“You serious ?”

“Why did you send him the picture ?” Kyungsoo asks next, giving the boy his phone back.

“Uh... To...show him that I was nice to you ? He _ordered_ me to be,” the younger says, rolling his eyes, “I mean I would’ve anyway, but now I risk getting my ass kicked if I don’t.”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier ?”

Sehun shrugs.

“I dunno. It never came into the discussion, I guess ?”

“Mmh. Well he _did_ tell me his best friend was stupid,” Kyungsoo sighs, “I should’ve connected the dots sooner.”

“He said what ?”

“Come one, let’s go back to the routine,” Kyungsoo snickers, getting up and laughing when he hears Sehun mumbling how he’s gonna punch Jongin next time he sees him.

  
Later that night, as he fixes himself a quick dinner, he glances at his phone laying on the kitchen counter, screen displaying his current Kakaotalk conversation.

He hasn’t mentioned anything he found out today to Jongin yet, skirting around the subject when the dancer asked how the dance practice went.

  
**NiniPoodle**  
_So I think I’m gonna have to cut it_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_My mom won’t let me live if I don’t_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_She was already pissed off when I died it pink last month_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_I don’t want to tho_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_I like having fluffy hair xD_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_don’t cut it then_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Meh :/_

  
Kyungsoo transfers the fried rice from the pan to his plate and quickly tidies the kitchen before setting down in his couch with his food.  
 

 **Kyungsoo**  
_so...something happened today_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_??_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_with Sehun_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_????_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Waht happenrd ?????_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Happened*_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_What*_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Ugh_

  
The Composition major chuckles at Jongin’s struggle, deciding the boy deserves to be messed with a little, for hiding the fact that he knew Sehun.  
 

 **Kyungsoo**  
_I’m not sure if I should tell you tbh :/_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Why not ?????_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Hyung what happened ????????_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_DID HE DO SOMETHING TO YOU ? ARE YOU HURT ?_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_no ?_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_why would you think that ?_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Then what HAPPENED ?_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_quite the opposite actually_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_???_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_he was very...touchy-feely_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_What ?_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_I mean the routine is kinda based on a lot of physical contact but_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_ExcusemeWHAT?_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_Idk, even when we weren’t dancing he kept close to me_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_don’t you think it’s weird ?_

  
Kyungsoo smiles to himself, leading the conversation where he wants to and enjoying Jongin’s reactions. Even if the boy asked Sehun to be nice to him, chances are he didn’t mean _that_ kind of nice. And from how Jongin fondly talks about Sehun sometimes, Kyungsoo wonders if he doesn’t like the boy a tiny bit more than _best-friends_ should.  
 

 **Kyungsoo**  
_he even asked to take pictures with me_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_and he literally pulled me compleeeeetely against him_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_100% could feel his dick against my lower back since he was behind me_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_HYUNG_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_seems like mother nature blessed him on that btw xD_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_just sayin_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_DON’T YOU JUST-SAYIN ME §§§_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_WATCH ME KICK HIS NOODLE DICK NEXT WEEKEND_

  
Checkmate.  
 

 **Kyungsoo**  
_next weekend ?_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_YES_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_°A°_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Uhm....._

 **Kyungsoo**  
_yeah ?_

  
He allows himself to send six smirking-face emojis right after, just because, laughing as he watches Jongin awkwardly tries to justify himself for the next five minutes. He knew making the boy jealous would work. Not that Kyungsoo is interested in Sehun, though. But he can’t help but feel a little guilty and sad for Jongin, knowing that Sehun is seemingly straight.

  
**NiniPoodle**  
_You’re not mad at me, are you :/ ?_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_For not telling you I know him, I mean_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_I’m sorry for real !_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_no it’s fine_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_I should’ve realized tbh_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_I’m really sorry hyung >o<_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_I wonder why you kept asking me how it was going tho_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_since clearly Sehun was keeping you updated_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_No he wasn’t -_-_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_That brat never gave away any information XoX_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_oh so you WERE asking him !_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_°A°_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Hyung doN’T BE MAD_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t too hard with you_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Because I know how severe he can be !!!!_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_That’s it I swear !_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_I wasn’t trying to probe or anything !_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Just wanted to be sure he wouldn’t exhaust you :(_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Don’t be mad :(_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_Jongin I’m not mad_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_really I’m not_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Promise ?_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_yup_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_if anything, I find it more funny than annoying_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Okay_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_for real_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_^.^_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Good cause I have to go_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_My mom has been screaming at me to come and eat dinner for 15 minutes already_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_omg why didn’t you say so earlier ?!_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_GO !_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_I didn’t want to leave if you WERE STILL MAD AT ME !!!_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_I’M NOT !_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_now hurry up before she cut your hair to punish you_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_°A°_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_BYE_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_bye xD_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Hyung wait !_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_what_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Can I call you tomorrow ?_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_yeah sure_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Yay ^-^_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_but why ?_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_No reason :)_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Bye !_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_okay..._

  
♪♫

  
“Hyung, seriously, how many suits did you pack ?” Kyungsoo asks in disbelief, watching his brother empty his luggage and hanging his clothes in the small section of his wardrobe he managed to make space in.

“Ten. One for each day, and four extras,” Seungsoo answers, pushing the clothes so they would all fit.

“Jiyeon has a bad influence on you...”

“Don’t tell her that, she’ll hit you.”

“No she won’t,” Kyungsoo snorts, “She wants to make a good impression on her future brother-in-law.”

“Oh she’s way past that, trust me. Mom called her a few times this last week, they spent hours on the phone. I think she’s already part of the family.”

“Don’t fuck things up then,” the younger jokingly advices, “Or you’ll never hear the end of it.”

Before Seungsoo can reply, Kakaotalk ringtone echoes in the bedroom and Kyungsoo quickly grabs his phone to reject the call. Jongin really didn’t choose the best moment. If he picks up in front of his brother, _he_ will never hear the end of it, since Baekhyun has undoubtedly talked more about the dancer to Seungsoo. And who knows what those two have been cackling about behind his back.

“Not answering ?”

“I’ll call him back later, it’s fine.”

“Is it Baekhyun ?” Seungsoo inquires, shoving his suitcase under his brother’s bed and giving him a curious look.

Kyungsoo merely shakes his head no and gets up from his mattress, feeling the other following as he walks in the living room.

“Chanyeol ? Junmyeon ?”

“No.”

“Was it Jongin ?”

Kyungsoo closes his eyes and sighs.

“Baekhyun needs to keep his mouth shut.”

Seungsoo chortles and nudges him as he passes by his side before plopping down on the couch.

“Does he call you often ?”

“No ? Yes ? I don’t know. Define ‘often’,” Kyungsoo shrugs, sitting beside his brother and grabbing the tv remote, more to keep his hands busy than to turn it on.

“Let’s say at least twice a week.”

“Oh,” he deadpans, starring at the black screen, “Then yes, he calls me often.”

“Do you like him ?” his brother nonchalantly questions, taking the remote out of his hand and turning the television on.

“Is it an interrogation ?” Kyungsoo counters, rolling his eyes, “Why are you so curious ?”

“Cause I’m your brother,” he pauses, watching the drama characters on screen draw out their swords and start to fight, “And I note you didn’t answer my question,” he then adds, and Kyungsoo really doesn’t like the smirk on his lips.

“We’re friends,” he says in an even tone, “He’s nice and funny. So we’re friends. Which is amazing, considering how we met each other. The whole situation could’ve turned pretty badly.”

“Do you still receive nasty messages from his fans ?”

“Sometimes, yeah,” the younger sighs, “But a different kind.”

“Different how ?”

Kyungsoo sends him an annoyed look, because really, what’s will all the questions.

“Before it was mostly ‘ _stop copying Kai oppa_ ’ blah blah blah, with a bunch of insults,” he answers nonetheless, “Now it’s more like ‘ _stay away from Kai oppa_ ’, still with a bunch of insults, but slut-shaming oriented.”

 “What the fuck !”

“It’s okay,” Kyungsoo snorts, patting his brother’s tight when the older rotate his body towards him with an outraged expression, “I put filters on the YouTube comments with some keywords, since it’s mostly there this kind of thing happens. It’s irritating, and I don’t really understand where it comes from, but it’s fine. The number of nice comments is way higher anyway. And most of them actually are about the video themselves. Some of his fans even subscribed to me.”

Seungsoo clicks his tongue, clearly still upset, and settles back between the couch cushion, crossing his arms and grumbling about how some people are stupid and rude.

“Amen to that,” Kyungsoo chuckles, right before his phone starts buzzing, Kakaotalk chat notifications tinkling on repeat.

“Come on, text him back,” the older grins, “The poor boy must be wondering why you rejected his call.”

“He’ll live,” Kyungsoo snorts, “Let’s watch a movie on Netflix.”

  
When Kyungsoo finally calls the dancer back a few hours later, he gets an earful of grumpy Jongin probably pouting on the other end of the line. But it’s worth it. He’d rather avoid his brother hearing the conversation. Better not give any gossip material to the Seungsoo-Baekhyun duo.

  
♪♫

  
“Hyung, wait,” Sehun stops him with a chuckle, “What are you doing with your arms ?”

“The move you showed me ?”

“You look like you’re drowning. I never included that concept into the routine.”

“Well I’m sorry Mr. I-dance-since-I-was-9,” the Composition major grimaces, rolling his left shoulder to ease the soreness, “I’m doing my best.”

“Well I’m sorry,” the dancer answers using the same annoyed tone, “But I told you you’d have to work hard.”

“I know. But it’s not easy !”

The exclamation earns him a sigh from Sehun.

“It’s okay. Sorry. You’re doing great.”

Kyungsoo frowns. This is definitely not the kind of answers he usually gets from the boy when he complains.

“Can you show me again ?” he asks, deciding to put his susceptibility aside.

“Yeah. Okay, let’s start from the step just before.”

  
They’re eating a quick lunch a few hours later when Kyungsoo turns his phone on. The device buzzing incessantly as it comes back to life, dozens of notifications popping up. He knew he did the right thing when he turned it off in the morning, or the constant text messages would’ve disturbed the dance practice non stop.  
And as he reads all the nice messages he received – Baekhyun’s one winning the award of the craziest, stupidest, and cutest all at the same time – he remembers he was supposed to ask something to Sehun.

“Hey, is it okay if we stop early today ?” he starts, taking a bite of his sandwich, “My brother planned something for my birthday and he asked me to be home at 4pm sharp. I should’ve asked you sooner, sorry.”

Sehun’s eyes, previously focused on the fashion magazine laying on his lap, jerk up to look at him.

“It’s your birthday ?”

“Yes ?”

“Today ? Today is your birthday ?” he questions, looking half surprised and half amazed.

“Yeah, today is my birthday. That’s what I just said…”

“You gotta be kidding me,” Sehun says with a disbelieving chuckle.

“Uhm…no ?”

“This is soulmate AU fanfic material for real.”

“What ?”

“Nevermind,” the dancer replies, shaking his head with another little laugh. “But that explains the random morning threat.”

“The what ? Okay, I’m lost here.”

“I was wondering why Jongin was awake at 7am,” the younger says, taking his phone out of his backpack and unlocking it, “Since school hasn’t started yet and he never wakes up before 11am during breaks.”

Kyungsoo frowns but still grabs the device Sehun hands him over and looks down at the screen.

  
  
**NiniPoodle**  
_Oh Sehun you beTTER BE EXTRA NICE TO KYUNGSOO HYUNG TODAY !_  
**NiniPoodle**  
_BUT NO TOUCHING OR I’LL CUT YOUR DICK OFF_  
 

  
“I asked him why but he didn’t reply,” Sehun continues. “I was confused. But it makes sense now.”

Kyungsoo nods, giving the other his phone back. What does indeed makes sense to him, is Jongin warning Sehun that he shouldn’t have any physical contact with anyone. It fits with what Kyungsoo had picked up since they started talking. Every now and then, Jongin seems to be quite possessive when it comes to his _best friend_. And he _would_ use it to tease the boy to death, if only it wasn’t heartbreaking for the younger.  
The boy never said anything about it, but again, Kyungsoo himself had kept the sexuality topic quite vague, so he couldn’t blame Jongin for having the same doubts.

But maybe he was wrong about all this.  
He hopes he is. Jongin is so nice. It hurts Kyungsoo to picture him depressed by the situation.

  
Sehun ends up agreeing with stopping the practice earlier than usual and they part around 3:30pm, the lanky boy wishing him a happy birthday and a fun evening once again.

When Kyungsoo arrives back at his apartment, his brother greets him eagerly and presses him to take a shower and get ready as quick as possible, helping him to take off his coat and pushing him towards the bathroom. Absolutely clueless about what is going on, Kyungsoo complies, chuckling at Seungsoo’s obvious excitement.

It’s only half an hour later he finally understands what all the fuss was about.

Standing in the middle of a pedestrian street in the center of Seoul, Kyungsoo reads once again the name of the business they stopped in front of.

 _White Noise_.

Written in an elegant black calligraphic font. The two words description right underneath has Kyungsoo turning his head to look at his brother.

“Are you serious ?”

“Yes ! We’ve talked about it for long enough, and I thought today was the perfect occasion to get it done together. So...happy birthday !” Seungsoo brightly smiles at him.

Kyungsoo’s eyes go back to the shop’s vitrine. He obviously wasn’t expecting this kind of present.

“You told me they were the best in town for they style we want. So I booked us an appointment. What do you say ? You’re in ?” his brother asks, and even if he isn’t looking at his face, Kyungsoo can hear the glee in his voice.

“Fuck yeah,” the younger answers, beaming at Seungsoo, before they step inside, bell chiming above their head as they open the door.

“Hi there ! Welcome to White Noise Tattoo Studio !” a joyful voice greets them right as a long-haired girl walks in the room, “What can I do for you dear lovely customers ?” she jovially asks, settling on the high stool behind the counter.

“We have an appointment,” Seungsoo answers, “Well, actually, two.”

“The Do brothers ?” she inquires after checking on the big schedule book, and they both nods, “Wait, yes ! I remember talking to one of you on the phone ! Awesome !” she claps, a big smile on her face, “I’m Hyorin, I’m the tattoo artist here ! So I recall we talked about matching tattoos, you said you had a rough sketch, right ?”

Seungsoo nods and the younger watches him as he gets two pieces of paper out of his coat pocket, placing them in front of the girl.

“Okay so, matching but not exactly the same ! Cool ! Which one is for who ?”

And Kyungsoo can’t help but happily laugh as she leads them on the waiting area, offering them some coffee, so they can talk about the designs.

 

It’s nearly 9pm when he finds himself settled in front of his computer, screen showing the YouTube video uploading bar. Phone in hand, he quickly types a caption going with the picture he is about to post on Instagram.  
 

 **melod.ous** _Hey guys ! I just got it, isn’t it super pretty ? I love it ! Best b-day present ever ! This is why today’s video is a bit late ! But it coincidentally fits really well with the title of this week’s song cover !_  
Also thank you so much all for the adorable b-day wishes, you guys are the best ! Your support means the world to me, so please ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT I LOVE YOU TOO !  
#gettingemotionalhere #cantstoplookingatmyarm #ifckingloveit #isitlegaltomarryatattoo #itdidntevenreallyhurt #okaymaybeabit #okaytoomuchhashtags

  
As the notifications start to pile up the second he posts it, Kyungsoo’s eyes slide to look at his arm. Nestled right under the crook of his elbow and adorning the inside of his forearm, the eleven stars forming the Capricorn constellation and connected by thin delicate lines bring once again a smile on his face. It’s a reminder of childhood nights they used to spent with their grandparents, the four of them lying in their backyard and stargazing for hours, way pass bedtime. His brother, who now sports the Leo constellation on his calf, couldn’t have thought of a better birthday present.

But Baekhyun was gonna freak out.

And just as this thought crosses his mind, his phone shakes in his hand and his best friend’s name pops up in a series of text messages.

  
From : **Annoying Bunny**

09:07pm-  
_A TATTOO ?? WHAT THE FUCK ??_

From : **Annoying Bunny**

09:08pm-  
_WHY WASN’T I INFORMED OF THIS ????_

From : **Annoying Bunny**

09:08pm-  
_OMFG KYUNGSOO DID YOU JOIN A GANG ???????_

  
Kyungsoo quickly replies, happy that he possibly managed to divert Baekhyun’s mind from whatever seems to burden him. He hasn’t seen his best friend in weeks and kind of misses their daily face to face bickering. Not that he would admit it in front of the guy, of course. Baekhyun would tease him forever if he did.  
His last text is immediately followed by Kakaotalk’s chat alert.

  
**NiniPoodle**  
_Hyung ! Happy birthday agaiiiiin !_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_The tattoo is so pretty !!!!!_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Did it hurt ?_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Does it hurt now ?_

  
Kyungsoo smile grows even bigger, heart warming. He knew about Baekhyun, but it seems like Jongin too had set the notifications on for his Instagram account.  
 

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Send me more pictures of it !_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_I wanna seeeeeeeeeee !!_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_You got a TATTOO AAAAAAAAAAAAAH_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_So badass !!!!_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_I’m scared of needles °A°_

  
_Cute_ , Kyungsoo thinks, a chuckle leaving his lips before he complies to the dancer’s demand and sends him a dozen pictures his brother took, and adding an intense close up video of the tattoo gun _while_ Hyorin was inking his skin.

He should send some to his mom too, before Baekhyun calls her and tells her about how her younger son is now part of a biker gang or whatever crazy shit he always comes up with.

  
**NiniPoodle**  
_ICB HOW MANY NEEDLES DOES THIS THING HAVE OMG  °A°_

  
♪♫

  
Kyungsoo’s face is covered in shampoo running down from his hair when his brother barges in the bathroom this Saturday morning.  
His first reaction is to curse at him and tell him to leave but he unfortunately ends up chocking on water and soap. As he waits for the coughing fit to pass, rubbing his eyes after rinsing his hands, he hears a familiar melody.

“Someone named Sehun is calling you,” Seungsoo yells to cover the sound of the shower.

“Can you pick up ?” he answers, voice hoarse, resuming his hair-rinsing and thanking whoever invented sandblasted glass shower doors.

“Hello ?’ he hears his brother say, “Ah, no sorry, I’m his brother. He’s busy but I can pass a message.”

“Wait hyung, put him on speaker,” Kyungsoo interrupts him, stopping the water to hear better and popping his head out of the shower. Once his brother has complied, he greets the younger boy, “Hey Sehun ! Sorry I couldn’t pick up.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay,” the dancer reassures.

“Did you need anything ?”

“I wanted to ask if you were free tonight. But... I mean if you’re busy, it’s fine,” Sehun adds, sounding hesitant.

“Sorry, my brother wants us to celebrate my birthday properly, whatever that means,” Kyungsoo says, eyeing Seungsoo who mischievously smiles at him, “Why ?”

“Oh, uh...nothing. I mean it’s... Yeah, no, forget it. Okay I gotta go !”

“Alright,” Kyungsoo answers, a bit confused.

“See you Hyung, have a good evening.”

Seungsoo hangs up when the line goes dead and looks up at his brother.

“Well that was weird,” he snorts.

“Yeah...”

“He sounded disappointed. Do you wanna go and check what it’s about ?”

“Nah, I’ll just ask him on Monday,” Kyungsoo replies, “I’m sure it’s nothing. He’s probably fretting over the routine we have to work on.”

“Oh, he’s the one helping you ?” the older chuckles as Kyungsoo turns the shower back on.

“More like the one killing me. He thinks my body will be able to bend as much as his just by the sheer force of his cheering.”

“Sounds painful.”

“It is. The only flexible thing in my body are probably my vocal chords. The rest is as stiff as a pole.”

“Well that can be a good thing for some body parts,” Seungsoo declares.

Kyungsoo quickly grabs an empty bottle of shampoo and throws it at his brother, droplets of water flying in motion with his arm.

“Get the fuck out,” he laughs, voice bouncing in the small room, and his brother’s cackles echoing as he runs away.

 

Later that day, Kyungsoo finds himself sat in the passenger sit of his brother’s car. For the past fifteen minutes, he has been trying to get some info out of Seungsoo, but the older just refuses to tell him what he planned for the night.

“Stop asking ! I told you. You’ll see when we get there. I just need to drop by Junmyeon’s house to grab something before.”

“Just a hint ! Come one, hyung !” Kyungsoo pleads once more.

Seungsoo snickers and shakes his head and Kyungsoo ends up crossing his arms and wiggling deeper into his seat, pouting.  
True to his word, the older parks on Junmyeon’s driveaway less than ten minutes later, motioning at Kyungsoo to get out too.

“Just in case it takes a while. I can’t have you freeze in the car before the party has even started.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes but follows him nonetheless. He clearly doesn’t have input tonight. Better comply. It _is_ cold anyway.

Two rings of the doorbell later, Junmyeon opens the door, a big smile plastered on his face.

“Hey Jun,” Seungsoo greets, “Got what I need ?”

“Yes, come on in,” Junmyeon nods, still smiling as he steps aside.

The house is pretty dark as the brothers step inside, but Kyungsoo knows Junmyeon lives with his parents and grand-mother, so even if it’s barely 9:30pm, chances are the elders have already retired for the night.  
He closes the door behind him to stop the icy breeze from filtering in the entryway and proceeds to follow the two older men, catching up in three long steps.  
But before he has the time to ask what it is they came for, the living room lights suddenly flicker on and a blinking second later, voices erupt within the large room in a roaring “Happy birthday !!!”.

Kyungsoo feels an arm falling around his shoulder and when he looks to his left, Seungsoo is beaming at him.

“Happy birthday little brother.”

“Kyungsoo !” The voice has the Composition major’s head snapping to the front, where Baekhyun’s eye-smile fills his vision just before he gets crushed into a tight hug. “I missed you !”

Kyungsoo chuckles and squeezes him back for a few seconds before taking a step back to look at everyone else.

“How long have you guys been preparing that ?”

“We planned it even before winter break started,” his brother answers as they fully walk into the room to greet the twenty-some people scattered in every corner.

“And you managed to have this one keep his mouth closed ?” Kyungsoo snorts, thumb pointing at Baekhyun.

“It was a daily fight, trust me.”

  
♪♫

  
For the next two hours, Kyungsoo tries to spend as much time as he can with each and every of his friends. He receives more birthday wishes, wilder as the alcohol bottles get emptied and people decide singing the birthday song in various languages would be a good idea. Ask Kyungsoo and he’ll tell you it’s not, especially after hearing Chanyeol’s German and Henry’s Russian versions.

A quick look around makes him frown when he fails to spot Baekhyun. He pretends a trip to the bathroom to escape from Heeyeon and Minseok who are blabbering about the kitten they recently adopted, and tries his luck in the kitchen. He heard Baekhyun say he was hungry an hour ago, so maybe the boy is rummaging inside the Kim’s family fridge.

And sure enough, as Kyungsoo opens the door, he instantly finds Baekhyun, alone, leaning against the counter near the stove and eyes boring into the tiled floor. He takes slow steps towards his best friend, unnoticed until he stands next to him and speaks up.

“Hey, are you okay ?” he asks softly and Baekhyun seems to snap out of his thought, looking at him and instantly smiling brightly. It looks fake.

“Yeah sure !” the older nods enthusiastically, “It’s nice to be all together like that ! It’s been a long time since we did this !”

Kyungsoo sighs.

“Alright I’m gonna ask again and you’re gonna cut the bullshit. Are you okay ?” he repeats and silently watches Baekhyun’s smile fall as he goes back to looking at the ground.

“No, not really.”

“Do you wanna talk about it ?” Kyungsoo asks and Baekhyun seems to hesitate.

“It’s Taeyeon,” he finally says, “She... We had a fight earlier today. She’s been quite distant for the past few months and we argue more than before, but...”

“What happened ?”

“You know she’s graduating at the end of the semester. Well, in a month,” the older reminds him and Kyungsoo simply nods, “She came in my room this morning to tell me she got offered a serious internship in a big music production company, as soon as she’s out of the school.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widen. This is a big news indeed. Even if he still is a bit confused about why it would make Baekhyun look so sad. His best friend has always been the most supportive person ever when it comes to Taeyeon, even before the two got together.

“Well…that’s...pretty awesome !”

“Yeah, I guess,” Baekhyun exhales, briefly closing his eyes.

“Then what’s the problem ? What did you fight about ?”

“The company is in the USA...”

“Oh...”

“Yeah.”

Now it’s starting to make sense.

“So...is she-“

“She came only to tell me she had already accepted their offer,” Baekhyun cuts him and Kyungsoo eyes grow even wider, “They send her the email three months ago, Kyungsoo. Three months. She didn’t even talk to me about it, she just said yes. And from the look on her face, she expected me to be all happy about it.”

“Well...I mean-”

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome, I’m super proud of her !” Baekhyun cuts him again, “But...I just-  She said yes without even telling me. We’ve been together for four years now. And she...”

“I’m sorry Baek.”

“She got mad at me, you know ?” the older says with a joyless laugh that sounds way too bitter for Kyungsoo’s taste, “She got fucking mad at _me_ when she finally noticed I wasn’t so thrilled about it ! But what was she expecting ?”

Kyungsoo doesn’t know what to say. There isn’t much to say anyway. So he remains silent as Baekhyun lets out everything he kept bottled up inside.

“It’s like she didn’t even think about that would mean for us. For our couple.”

“I’m sure she didn’t take her decision on an impulse,” he tries, “She must have thought about it and-”

“Isn’t it even worse then ? It is !” Baekhyun blurts out, looking up at Kyungsoo with red eyes, “Cause it means she doesn’t even care about leaving me behind while she goes and lives her fucking American dream.”

Kyungsoo stares back, speechless. It hurts to see Baekhyun like this. He wants to say something that could comfort him, anything to convince him that maybe his girlfriend has some sort of plan to salvage this situation. But he finds nothing. And he watches helpless as Baekhyun’s eyes get watery.

“What am I am gonna do if she leaves, Soo ?”, he pauses, and a tear slowly rolls on his cheekbone, “What am I supposed to do without her ?”

Baekhyun’s voice cracks on the last words and Kyungsoo pulls him into a hug, letting his best friend clench his fists on his sweatshirt as he starts to cry silently.

“You’ll have us. We’ll be there for you. _I_ will be here,” he says in the softest but most genuine tone he can get out, rubbing soothing circles on Baekhyun’s shaking back.

Long minutes pass before the older male’s quiet sobbing finally calms down, and some more until his breathing returns to normal. Or at least, normal enough for Kyungsoo to stop being afraid his best friend will break if he stops holding him.  
Baekhyun’s eyes are still red and puffy when he takes a step back, but he offers a tentative smile to Kyungsoo, wordlessly thanking him as he sniffs. Kyungsoo smiles back and juts his chin towards the door.

“Wanna go back there ?” he gently suggests and Baekhyun takes a deep breath before he nods.

“Yeah, let’s have some fun.”

  
♪♫

  
They do not end up having fun.

At all.

The second they pass the door and enter the living room, a voice makes him go rigid, jaw clenching as the person greets his brother.

“Seungsoo hyung, hey !”

“Oh, hey Hyunsik...” his brother replies, carefully eyeing Kyungsoo with pursed lips, “It’s been a while.”

“Yeah ! Last time I saw you was when I came over to have dinner at your parents’ house, right ? Back when Kyungsoo and I were dating.”

“Probably, yes.”

The tone of his voice could pass as friendly for someone who doesn’t really know Seungsoo. But Kyungsoo can clearly hear the hostility behind the fake amiability.

“Do you know where your brother is ?” Hyunsik asks, eyes wondering in the room, “I have a present for him.”

Kyungsoo is about to open his mouth and tell the guy to just fuck off, but he gets pushed behind a group of people by Baekhyun’s hand right before his best friend stomps towards the unwelcomed man.

“He doesn’t want it. You can leave,” Baekhyun spits.

Now, his best friend isn’t usually this straightforward, rarely unfriendly, but when Kyungsoo, still hidden, sees how Baekhyun openly glares at his ex, he guesses the older isn’t in the mood of kindly dealing with Hyunsik. Not that he minds. He was about to do the same less than a minute ago.

“Woah, calm down,” Hyunsik smirks, holding his hands up, “You can pull back your claws. Eunji invited me, okay ?”

Kyungsoo sighs, watching as Baekhyun and Seungsoo look taken aback by his ex’s affirmation, before he jolts when a hand lands on his upper arm.

“Kyungsoo, I’m sorry !” Junmyeon says when the Composition major looks at him, “I didn’t know she told him about the party.”

“It’s fine Hyung,” he shakes his head, exhaling slowly, “Don’t fret about it.”

He steps out and walks up to the trio. Better get this done with now.

“Kyungsoo !” Hyunsik beams at him, “Happy birthday ! You look nice !”

“Thanks,” he answers coldly after giving him an impassive look. “Come on Baek, let’s go grab a drink, I’m gonna need it if I have to be in the same room as him,” he adds, not even trying to conceal the annoyance in his tone.

Baekhyun nods and follows him as Kyungsoo hears his brother snorts and catching up with them, leaving a displeased Hyunsik behind.

For the rest of the night, every single opportunity Hyunsik tries to seize to get closer to Kyungsoo is quickly aborted, thanks to Seungsoo and Baekhyun sticking to him as if they were extensions of his body. They make sure to sit on both his sides when he plops down on the couch, and never let him go anywhere alone, including when he goes to the bathroom. And as more and more alcohol flood in his veins, Kyungsoo finds Hyunsik’s irritated face funnier every time.

But as the clocks hands indicate 4am and Kyungsoo’s vision is completely blurry from the way too many rounds of shots they did a few minutes before, he neglects to tell his brother and his best friend that he plans a trip to the kitchen to grab some water. Seungsoo is talking with Junmyeon and Baekhyun looks smashed, and since he hasn’t seen Hyunsik for a little while now, he deems it safe to go on his own.

Mistake number one.

He doesn’t exactly – read : at all – walk straight and ends up bumping into furniture and walls but he somehow makes it. He’s in the middle of grabbing a glass in the cupboard when the door behind him is pushed open and Hyunsik’s voice attacks his eardrum once more.

“Here you are, finally,” he says, and Kyungsoo hears the smile in his voice before he slowly turns around and sends a tired look at his ex.

“Yeah, here I am. What do you want ?” he sighs, staggering as he tries to stand upright.

“Just to talk to you,” Hyunsik answers, sounding a lot more sober than Kyungsoo would’ve expected, “I’ve been trying to all night.”

“I know,” Kyungsoo replies, blinking to adjust to the invasive blur in his eyes and patiently waiting for the world around him to come into focus.

Mistake number two.

“You’ve trained your watchdog well,” his ex snickers, stepping inside and closing the door behind him, “Byun wouldn’t leave you alone for a minute.”

“The fuck are you talking about ?” he says, speech heavily slurred, “He’s trying to help me, don’t talk about him like that.”

He’s vaguely aware he sounds childish, and he isn’t even sure why he tries to reason with the guy when he should be getting the hell out of the room. But for some obscure reason – or most likely because he knows he wouldn’t make it far without tripping –, he stays where he is and watches Hyunsik take a few more steps towards him.

Mistake number three.

“I haven’t even given you your birthday present,” Hyunsik grins with a final step that has Kyungsoo cornered against the kitchen counter, “Yet.”

“What ?” he says, squeezing his eyes a few times as his head spins and his mind goes all fuzzy.

“Happy birthday,” Hyunsik breathes out before Kyungsoo feels lips pressing on his own and arms circling his waist.

It takes five full seconds for him to realize something wrong is happening, during which his hammered brain has half in mind to _lean in_. But then something clicks and he forces his hands to move, messily trying to grab Hyunsik’s waist, fists clenching around the wool of his sweater to try and push him away.

Hyunsik, however, seems to take the clumsy action as an encouragement and pulls Kyungsoo closer to him, applying more pressure against Kyungsoo’s closed mouth. He smells like rum and coke and Kyungsoo hates it. He tries to turn his head away but Hyunsik’s hand comes up to cup his chin in a firm hold. Everything spins and Kyungsoo squeezes his eyes shut as he writhes some more. He just wants it to stop.

The next second, a banging noise makes him flinch and the overwhelming presence around him is gone. Then a sound of bone against bone.

“Stay the fuck away from him !”

Kyungsoo knows that voice. He opens his eyes and finds his brother standing clenched-fisted in front of a bloody-nosed Hyunsik. Seungsoo looks positively furious, ready to leap and hit again. Even in his plastered state, Kyungsoo can say so.

His legs decide to give away at that moment so he lets himself slide to the ground. The motion seems to snap Seungsoo out of his rage and a second later, he’s gently holding the younger back up on his feet.

“Let’s go,” he sighs. Then, “You okay ?”

Kyungsoo is not. But he nods. He really just wants to get the fuck out of here.

“Baekhyun,” he mumbles, swaying as they exit the kitchen, his body almost entirely leaning in Seungsoo’s arms.

“Junmyeon put him in a guest room, he’s sleeping.”

  
♪♫

  
Silence fills the car on their way to Kyungsoo’s apartment, and in his cloudy mind, he quietly thanks his brother for being responsible enough to stop drinking alcohol early in the night in order to be sober to drive them home.  
He keeps rubbing the back of his hand against his mouth to erase the unpleasant ghostly feeling of Hyunsik’s lips on his. If Seungsoo notices – and he probably does, since the younger can feel his brother eyeing him every now and then – he doesn’t say anything.

Kyungsoo drank too much. Way too much. And Seungsoo has to half carry his limp body up to his apartment, then to his bed. He helps him change into an oversized shirt and forces Kyungsoo to gulp down a tall glass of cold water before ruffling his hair and exiting his bedroom, wishing him a good night.

In the complete darkness, Kyungsoo stares at his ceiling until the room slows down its spinning motion. He extends a hand, patting down on his nightstand where he saw Seungsoo place his phone earlier. He should text Baekhyun to tell him not to worry, since the boy is probably gonna panic in the morning when Junmyeon tells him what happened.

The screen’s light makes him groan as it attacks his oversensitive eyes and it takes him a few seconds to focus his vision enough to read the notifications.  
Two missed calls. From Jongin.

He opens Kakaotalk and stares at the vocal note in the chatroom, apparently sent around 10pm. He clicks to play it and switches the volume up.

He can briefly hear laughter in the background before the dancer’s cheerful voice bounces out his phone’s speaker.

“Hey hyung, it’s me ! Jongin ! Haha, yeah you probably know that. Uh...I tried to call you but you didn’t answer. You must be busy. I saw you were at a birthday party, and Sehun confirmed so…I hope you’re having a great time !”

A girl’s voice cuts him with a booming “Jongnini, come here it’s birthday presents time !”

Jongin’s laugh fills the room, the speaker making it sound a bit metallic.

“Sorry hyung, gotta go but yeah. Oh, also, I think I caused a ruckus again on Instagram. In the comments of the picture you posted earlier. Sorry !” he chuckles joyfully.

“Uncle Nini ! Come !” a little girl chirps.

 “Jongin !” Sehun’s voice echoes from the speaker.

 “Yeah I’m coming, oh my god ! Keep Rahee away from the cake or she won’t sleep all night ! Okay uh…yeah, I really hope you’re enjoying your party. Happy birthday again, Hyung ! I mean it was on Thursday but since you’re celebrating again today... Anyway. Ah ! And if you’re listening to this after going home then have a good night ! Okay, bye hyung !”

Once the room is engulfed in silence again, Kyungsoo frowns. It might have something to do with the fact that he’s absolutely drunk out of his mind, but he feels like he’s missing an important information here.

So he opens Instagram, and clicks on the group selfie he took at the beginning of the party, before Hyunsik showed up and ruined everything. The comment section is indeed a huge mess of people talking about Jongin and how cute it is that the boy wished him a happy birthday on his own post too.

Alright. He is definitely missing something.

Until a comment has him blinking repeatedly.

  
**kaisoo4thewin4ever** OMG THEIR BIRTHDAYS ARE TWO DAYS APART I’M CRYING IT’S PERFECT !!!

  
“Wait...”

Two taps and a swipe later, his blurry eyes are looking at a picture of Jongin beaming at the camera, a ridiculous party hat propped on his head, two words diagonally written on it : _BIRTHDAY BOY_.  
 

 **kimkaaaaaaai** _Everyone ! I’m one year older today :D ! I’m celebrating it tonight with friends and family !! It’s cold outside so stay home and drink some hot chocolate, okay ^.^ ? Oh and I hope you didn’t forget to wish a happy birthday to_ @melod.ous two days ago ! Isn’t it funny that Kyungsoo hyung and I almost share our birthday xD ? Happy birthday to him and happy birthday to me~ !  
And thank you everyone for all the birthday wishes <3 ! You make my heart all warm and happy !  
#IWroteTheWordBirthdayTooManyTimesHere #Birthday #AndOneMoreForLuck

  
Kyungsoo releases a long sigh, locking his phone and dropping it next to him.

They didn’t forget his birthday.

 _He_ forgot Jongin’s one.

“Fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. I know. Y’all want to burn me alive, don’t you xD ?  
> Well don’t ! I reworked the end for you…Cause I had first intended of finishing the chapter right after Hyunsik kissed Kyungsoo…. But I think you would all have found my address and come to kill me in my sleep.
> 
> Also, I’m sorry for the part where Jongin texts in French xD. As you may know by now, I AM French, and this is usually the common things I hear when a foreigner says they “know some French words” xD, so don’t be offended if you do what Jongin does. I find it actually super cute and endearing :P.


	11. Chapter 11

\--------------Sunday, January 15th--------------  
10:28am

**NiniPoodle**   
_Hey hyung !_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Did you have a nice party ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_I tried to call you, but you were probably busy ^-^_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Oh wait I just saw that you listened to the vocal note xD_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Haha I’m sorry if it bothered you_

**NiniPoodle**   
_You might still be sleeping_

**NiniPoodle**   
_I hope I didn’t wake you up :/_   
  


\--  
11:06am

**NiniPoodle**   
_OMG RAHEE IS DANCING TO A NICKY MINAJ SONG_

**NiniPoodle**   
_HELP °A°_

**NiniPoodle**   
_WHAT IS SHE DOING_   
  


\--  
12:13pm

**NiniPoodle**   
_I think my dog ate one of Rahee’s tiny toys :/_

  
  


\--  
12:19pm

**NiniPoodle**   
_False alarm xD_

**NiniPoodle**   
_One day either those dogs or that baby girl will end up killing me_

**NiniPoodle**   
_So many heart attacks !_   
  


\--  
1:54pm

**NiniPoodle**   
_Hyung are you okay ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_I saw you’ve read all my messages_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Still hangover xD ?_   
  


\--  
2:38pm

**NiniPoodle**   
_Hyung ?  :/_

**_NiniPoodle_ **   
_Should I be worried xD ?_   
  


\--  
4:26pm

**NiniPoodle**   
_Hyung..._

**NiniPoodle**   
_Are you okay ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_I see the little number going down every time_

**NiniPoodle**   
_You’re reading my messages, right ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Why aren’t you replying ?_   
  


\--  
5:59pm

**NiniPoodle**   
_Hyung are you mad at me ?  :(_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Did I do something ?_   
  


  
From : **Oh Sehun**

6:07pm-   
_Hi Kyungsoo hyung, how are you ? Was last night fun ? Hope you’re ready for our next three days of practice cause I’m not gonna let you slack off ! It’s the last sprint before the finishing line ! Text me if you start to freak out (or if you just need to talk) !_   
  


  
Kyungsoo sighs as he stares at his phone screen. Sehun’s text had arrived way too soon after Jongin’s last message for it to be a coincidence. And it didn’t have the usual tone the tall boy uses when he texts.  
Kyungsoo wasn’t stupid. Jongin had probably asked his best friend to check on Kyungsoo, since the older wasn’t answering any of his messages.

All day. Kyungsoo had spent the whole day trying to find out how he could text Jongin back. The dancer had wished him a happy birthday multiple times, both privately and on social medias. And Kyungsoo had _forgotten_ his. Two fucking days after.

When he woke up and saw Jongin’s texts, he had intended on answering with an apology. But reading his messages filled with concern, Kyungsoo had just blanked. The boy was still being nice to him despite Kyungsoo fucking up.  
He had dropped his phone and got up to take a shower, thinking he needed some time to figure out how he could tackle the problem without looking like an even shittier friend. The hangover wasn’t helping either anyway.

But then Seungsoo had prepared some food for an early lunch, and by the time they were done eating, Jongin had already sent a handful of new messages, each cuter than the last. And Kyungsoo had felt even worse.

Even now, as the sun has set already, he still has no idea what to do, what to say. He should apologize, yes, that’s a given. But how ?  
Surely a “ _haha I forgot your birthday while you were making a video to tell people to wish me mine ! hope we’re cool anyway !_ ” wouldn’t work.

This is exactly why he doesn’t like online conversation. Baekhyun is always teasing him about it and clearly doesn’t seem to understand that, contrary to most people, Kyungsoo would rather have a face-to-face conversation, where he can _see_ the person’s reactions and adjust accordingly. It’s a lot less stressful for him.  
Wasn’t it actually how his friendship with Jongin had started ? With Kyungsoo being clueless about how to message him and apologize ?  
Like a fucking loop, situations mirroring each other. And Kyungsoo mentally slaps himself. Clearly, he hasn’t learned anything. He still has no fucking idea what to say.

“Kyung ? You okay there ?”

Kyungsoo startles in the couch, looking up to see his brother intently watching him, suitcase propped near his leg.

“Yeah,” he answers quickly as he pockets his phone, “Are you done packing ?”

“Yes ! I can’t wait to go home. No offense but my bed is way comfier than your music room’s couch.”

“Right. I’m sure this has nothing to do with the person usually laying beside you in said bed,” the younger snickers, getting up and grabbing his empty mug from the coffee table.

“Okay, maybe that too,” Seungsoo chuckles, “Why were you staring at your phone like this ?”

“Ah, I was just going through the comments on my last video.”

Lie.

“Positive ones I hope. By the way, did you text or call that boy back ?”

Kyungsoo freezes, a wave of panic drenching him. How did Seungsoo know ? He couldn’t, right ?

“What ?”

“The dance student ?” his brother asks, tilting his head and Kyungsoo stops breathing, “The one who helps you for your winter session. Sehun, wasn’t it ?” Kyungsoo blinks, “He called you yesterday and sounded weird ? Didn’t you say you’d call him back or did you drink so much you forgot ?”

Exhaling in relief, Kyungsoo starts walking again towards the kitchen.

“Oh. Yeah. Uhm, no I didn’t yet,” he says, placing the mug in the sink, “But I know why he called. It’s okay.”

Lie.

“What was it about ?”

“I just... It’s nothing,” he answers, shaking his head, “We should go if you don’t want to miss your train. I don’t want Jiyeon to kill me if you’re not back home at the scheduled time.”

As he makes his way to his bedroom to grab his coat, Seungsoo stops him with a hand on his forearm.

“Hey, you sure you’re okay ?”

Kyungsoo can see the worry on his face, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed.

“Yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry. Just having a headache.”

Lie.

“I can go to the train station alone, you know. You don’t have to come with me.”

“No, it’s okay, let’s go.”

 --

Kyungsoo doesn’t text Sehun back. Or Jongin. Instead he goes to bed early and lays still, eyes closed and headphones on as his own voice starts singing in his ears. He hopes if he concentrates hard enough on the choreography, trying to remember and visualize every move behind his eyelids, he’ll be able to forget everything else. How he messed up with Jongin. How on Thursday, Sehun and he will present the routine they spent a whole month working on. How concerned Seungsoo looked when they parted at the strain station. How he didn’t hear anything from Baekhyun all day and didn’t even pay attention to it, all busy as he was feeling sorry for his stupid self.  
Surprisingly, it works. And Kyungsoo falls asleep as he pictures Sehun’s hand swiftly pushing against his chest until he’s lying flat on the ground, body already anticipating the weight of the tall dancer who will smoothly descends and lies down on top of him.

  
♪♫

  
The three following days pass in a complete blur. Sehun had thankfully only mentioned Jongin once, telling Kyungsoo it wasn’t his place to interfere in whatever happened between them, but adding that, if he wanted to talk about it, he’d be there to listen.  
Although thankful, Kyungsoo had decline the offer, preferring to focus on practice. He couldn’t afford to mess that up too, on top of everything else. Couldn’t afford to mess that up, period. Sehun and he had worked too much for him to ruin everything just because he was a complete idiot.  
  
Hours after hours, pression built up, bringing anxiety and fatigue in its tow. He would come back home way later than usual, and after a brief shower, Kyungsoo would go straight to bed, unread messages piling up in one particular Kakaotalk chatroom.

He had made a point of not reading the dozens of messages Jongin had sent him. He needed to focus. And he knew spending hours trying to find what to say to Jongin would definitely distract him. So he didn’t. He pushed the issue aside in a corner of his mind and concentrated solely on Sehun and his routine. The pity party would have to wait. And as scared as he was, Thursday morning had finally arrived.

\--

He and Sehun have been waiting in the biggest dance studio, surrounded by all the students who had enrolled for the winter session. It’s been two hours already and he knows he has one more to go before their turn comes.  
It’s pretty nerve wracking, let’s be honest. They all arrived at 8am, and gathered in this studio, where a line of teachers from the Dance department came to explain how the day would go.

Every fifteen minutes, a new student would go in one of the two smaller studios assigned for this exam. There, four teachers would be waiting, and they would then present their routine, either alone or with the Dance major student that helped them. After that, a ten minutes interview would be conducted before they could leave. The next student would then go in the second small studio, where another four teachers would be, hence leaving fifteen minutes for the first judges to deliberate and mark the previous student.  
After the random draw done by the teachers, Kyungsoo had been set twelfth in line. Which left him having to wait for about three hours. It could’ve been worse, that’s what Sehun had said. The Composition major had the feeling those were gonna be the three longest hours of his life. Without exaggeration, of course.

And he was right.

Kyungsoo sits on the floor with his back against the mirror, hands fidgeting with his phone. With only one hour left to wait, Sehun had told him a few minutes ago that they would start warming up very soon.

He can’t sit still, adjusting his position, glancing every now and then at the other students. Some – most likely those who’ll go in before him – are already stretching and doing some late minute rehearsals of specific moves. Kyungsoo tries not to watch them too closely. He doesn’t want to see how much he sucks compared to them.

He looks down at his phone once more before sighing when he doesn’t see any notification on the lockscreen. He lets the device fall on his lap and closes his eyes, head falling back against the mirror.

Baekhyun had thankfully resurfaced on Monday night and texted Kyungsoo to let him know he was okay and just needed to be alone for few days. But he had nonetheless wished Kyungsoo good luck and promised to send him a stupid meme on Thursday morning to encourage him before the exam.

Which is why, when he finally feels his phone vibrating against his leg, Kyungsoo doesn’t think twice before unlocking it and opening his text message app.

Bad idea.

He should’ve checked who it was coming from.

Four words in, Kyungsoo lets out a shaky breath.

_Fuck_.  
  


From : **Unknown Number**  
09:57am-  
 _Hey hyung. It’s Jongin. Sorry, I asked Sehun if he could give me your number cause I noticed you weren’t reading my messages on KKT anymore and I thought maybe I’d have more chance of reaching you by text... I hope it’s okay with you ? If it’s not, I can delete it. I know we never really talked about exchanging numbers, not sure why but yeah…it’s fine if you don’t want me to have it. Just tell me. Or tell Sehun, I guess... Idk. I feel like I’m back being awkward with you, it’s weird, I’m not used to it anymore, sorry :/. Anyway, I just wanted to wish you luck for today. I know how hard you worked for it and I know you’ll do amazing. I’m sure of it. I wish I could be here to cheer for you (even tho I know no one is allowed in the studio aside from you and the teachers) (sorry maybe you wouldn’t even want me to be here :/). Anyway, Sehun is a great dancer, you can trust him (when it comes to dance at least). So yeah…good luck !_

From : **Unknown Number**  
09:58am-  
 _Actually you don’t need luck. You worked very hard and it’ll pay. Do your best and don’t be scared. You’ll be great ! Hyung, fighting <3 !_  
  


For what feels like hours, Kyungsoo is so focused on trying to stop his hands from shaking too much that he almost drops his phone when a new notification comes in. The winking goat meme, with a “Relax ! You goat this !” caption sent by Baekhyun has him half chuckling and half choking on the air he holds locked in his lungs.

This is all too much. And Kyungsoo never dealt really well with too much stress.

In one text, Jongin managed to apologize three times.

Why is it so complicated for Kyungsoo to fucking write the word Sorry and press send ?

He’s a fucking coward. That’s why. A stubborn, stupid and insensitive coward.

Yeah, a loser, that’s the word.

Or an asshole. You pick.

His phone does end up on the floor, though, after he jolts when Sehun’s hand lands on his shoulder.

“Let’s warm up ?” he says, before noticing Kyungsoo’s face, “Oh hey, what’s up ? You okay ?”

“Yeah, just fine,” Kyungsoo replies after taking a deep breath, “Just...yeah, I’m fine.”

Sehun eyes him for a few seconds, but thankfully drops the subject, probably thinking it’s some kind of stage fright, exam version. Kyungsoo wishes it was the only reason.

\--

After half an hour of stretches, warm ups and last-minute practice, a teacher’s assistant enters the room.

“Do Kyungsoo ?” she calls and Kyungsoo lifts his hand so she can spot him, “It’s your turn.”

The two boys exit the studio, following her as Kyungsoo tries to stop his body from trembling.

“Hyung, what is it ?” Sehun asks when they finally arrive in front of the studio #6’s closed door. Kyungsoo merely shakes his head, and the dancer takes his hand, giving it a light squeeze, “Hey, you’re gonna be fine ! Don’t worry, okay ? Trust me !”

As their eyes lock, Jongin’s text crosses his memory.  
“ _Sehun is a great dancer, you can trust him.”_

“I do,” he answers, offering a nervous smile.

“Good,” Sehun beams, lifting his hand so Kyungsoo can bump his fist against his, “Let’s do this !”

When they both finally stand side by side in front of the four teachers, Kyungsoo tries his best to empty his mind from any distraction. He really can’t mess this up.

“Mr. Do, right ? Would you like to tell us about what you are about to present ?” one of the judges asks.

Kyungsoo quickly looks at Sehun who smiles at him encouragingly.

“I think it’s pretty self-explanatory. The song, and the routine itself. I was honestly scared when the winter session started but...Sehun helped me a lot. To grow some self-confidence and open myself up. And to my own surprise, I ended up liking it. Dancing, I mean. We tried to make it as personal as it could be.”

“Kyungsoo hyung is the one singing the song we will use,” Sehun provides, sounding proud and Kyungsoo sheepishly smiles.

“Yes, I guess this is one more thing that makes it personal. And uhm…yes, we worked hard, so I really hope the story and emotions will reach you.”

“Very well,” a second teacher grins, “The room is yours, then. Whenever you’re ready.”

Sehun rapidly places two chairs facing each other in the back of the room, sitting on one of them and crossing his hands on his laps, face down as Kyungsoo goes to stand near the door.

He shakily exhales one last time before nodding at the teacher's assistant to signal they're ready.

And the music then begins, Kyungsoo's voice echoing in the room.

**_Hold, hold on  
Hold on to me_ **

Kyungsoo walks slowly towards Sehun. He sits on the second chair, facing the dancer who looks like he has been waiting for him. Without glancing at him, Sehun leans forward and grabs his wrist, pulling Kyungsoo up gently until their foreheads and noses are touching, eyes closed.

**_'Cause I'm a little unsteady  
A little unsteady_ **

The beat starts. They step back. And Kyungsoo lets the music swipe him away, body and emotions taking control.

_**Mama, come here  
Approach, appear** _

They're close, holding onto each other as Kyungsoo's lips graze Sehun's throat.

_**Daddy, I'm alone  
'Cause this house don't feel like home** _

He gets lifted up, then softly lands, knees bent. He pushes back on his hands and crawls away as Sehun passes above him, trying to keep a hand on Kyungsoo, not wanting to let go.

_**If you love me, don't let go** _

Sehun rolls towards him but Kyungsoo spins to his left, quickly getting away, as if to keep a safe distance.  
Until the dancer gets up, unbalancing himself, and Kyungsoo rushes back to him, catching him so he doesn't fall. Close again, he presses himself against Sehun's side, almost kissing the side of his neck when the boy tilts his head back, eyelids closed and a hand brushing Kyungsoo's hair.

_**If you love me, don't let go** _

_**Hold, hold on** _

A few meters away, Sehun's back is facing him, like he was refusing to look at him, refusing to let Kyungsoo hurt him again.  
Kyungsoo takes a step back, before he runs towards him and jumps on his back, thighs closing around Sehun's waist.

_**Hold on to me** _

Sehun extends his arms and Kyungsoo uses them to shift in front of the boy, knees still clutching Sehun's hips. A hand grabs his nape as Sehun bends forward, until Kyungsoo's back touches the ground and their foreheads brush, hot breath mingling. _Hold on to me._

_**'Cause I'm a little unsteady** _

Sehun backs away and Kyungsoo tightens his abdominal muscles to get up without his hands, but then falls back, using the momentun to push his legs up until only his upper back is in contact with the wooden floor. Sehun comes back to him, hands grabbing Kyungsoo's knees before the boy presses his cheeks against his heel and ankle.

_**A little unsteady** _

After being thrown away by Kyungsoo's legs, Sehun pushes himself backward, quickly sitting.

But despite rejecting him, and as if he couldn't stand being so far from Sehun, Kyungsoo gets up and runs towards him once again. He spins and without a second thought, he lets himself completely fall backward into Sehun's awaiting hands.

_**Mother, I know  
That you're tired of being alone** _

Kyungsoo is panting as he pulls on Sehun's waist to make him turn, trying to have the boy facing him. But Sehun resists, and make them both spin so they stand side by side but facing opposite directions.

They cling onto each other, hands grabbing chests, hips, backs, stomachs. Like tortured lovers trying to find relief in each ther's arms.

Then they both walk away.

**_Dad, I know you're trying_ **

Kyungsoo takes two steps back, and suddenly, Sehun’s words echo in his memories.

_“You’ll have to trust me for this. Run. Don’t think, and just jump forward. I’ll catch you. I won’t let you fall. Trust me, Hyung.”_

So he does, like they practiced so many times.

It somehow feels different this time, though.

Eyes locked into Sehun’s, he sees the boy imperceptibly nodding, sees how his arms’ muscles subtly flex and how he plants his bare feet on the floor, anchoring himself and creating invisible roots in the ground. Bracing himself, ready to catch Kyungsoo.

_**To fight when you feel like flying** _

Kyungsoo takes a deep breath.

He runs. And he leaps.

A second later, Sehun hands circle his waist, securely holding Kyungsoo upside down, before he smoothly lays him down.

_**But if you love me, don't let go** _

Kyungsoo takes half a heartbeat to let a happy happy smile paint his face when he hears one of the the teachers let out an approving sound, before he jumps back in character. He gets up as Sehun slowly walks away, looking like he wants to escapt the pain. Escape _Kyungsoo_.

_**If you love me, don't let go** _

They step around each other, forward and backward, avoiding, careful, until they catch the other's hand, standing away like they're afraid to close the distance.

_**Hold, hold on** _

After pushing against Kyungsoo's chest to make him stay flat on the floor, Sehun lies down on top of him, then rolls away, and the older almost reaches out for him.

_**Hold on to me** _

They catch each other's eyes, hands grabbing arms. _Hold on to me_.

From his kneeling position, Sehun pushes himself towards Kyungsoo and the older lifts him up by the waist before slowly bringing him down until Sehun sits on his lap.

**_'Cause I'm a little unsteady  
A little unsteady_ **

He can feel Sehun's breath on his lips as their faces come to an almost kiss, the dancer's hand grazing Kyungsoo's cheek.

_**Hold, hold on** _

When they're back up, still clinging onto each other, they wait for a beat, almost in anticipation, and suddenly, Sehun angrily prushes him away. Kyungsoo runs back to him, only to get pushed away once more.

**_Hold on to me_ **

**_'Cause I'm a little unsteady_ **

Back to back, Kyungsoo's hand lands on Sehun's shoulder. And as if he was giving up on trying to distance himself, Sehun brings him in front of his body and slowly steps back, hand briefly brushing Kyungsoo's hair, looking so tired.

_**A little unsteady** _

Kyungsoo glances at Sehun leaning against the wall and comes to stand in front of him again, turning to press his back against the taller boy's chest.

Sehun lips caress his cheeks right before Kyungsoo lifts an arm and places him around the dancer's shoulders.

**_Hold, hold on_ **

One arm tightly hugging his waist and his free hand where Kyungsoo's heart lies, Sehun lifts the smaller man, pressing their bodies flushed together.

_**Hold on to me** _

He slowly turns around, slightly rocking them left and right, and Kyungsoo, still not touching the ground, tightens his arms around Sehun's neck, cheek pushed against the dancer's. _Hold on to me._

_**'Cause I'm a little unsteady** _

Once Kyungsoo gets gently lowered back down, they both take a few steps towards the back of the room, still holding hands until they stand between the two chairs once again.  
And right as Kyungsoo's voice sings the last words without any intrumental background, raw emotions oozing from the notes, they sit delicately, leaning forward so their hands stay intertwined and their forehead still touching, getting back in the position they started in.

_**A little unsteady.** _

  
Silence engulfs the room, and the only thing Kyungsoo can hear is the sound of his own heavy breaths. For a few seconds, he stays still, slowly coming back to reality as he processes what just happened.

A heartbeat later, he looks up. Sehun is beaming at him, sweaty face shining under the artificial lights. And somehow, he finds himself laughing in sync with the dancer right before he gets pulled into a tight hug.

“You did it, hyung ! You did it !” Sehun whispers, tightening his hold.

“ _We_ did it,” Kyungsoo laughs.

Someone clears their throat with a chuckle and the boys calmly move apart, still keeping their hands clasped together. And Kyungsoo can’t help his uncontrollable smile when they both turn and see the four delighted faces looking at them.

  
♪♫

  
Before he even knows it, three weeks have passed and Kyungsoo is still trying to figure out how it all went wrong.

Sure, he got some feedback from his dance exam, all in all pretty positive. But that seems to be the only thing he didn’t mess up. As the days pass, it gets even harder for him to take his phone and finally reply to Jongin. To the point he doesn’t think he can do it at all anymore.

The dancer stopped texting him a week ago anyway.

“Hey, why the long face ? Aren’t you happy to see me ?”

Kyungsoo blinks, looking left at Baekhyun who sits beside him on the bed, eyebrows furrowed. His best friend had returned to campus earlier that day and Kyungsoo had naturally made his way to his dorm room, more out of habit than real want to be with someone.

“Sorry, I spaced out. What were you saying ?”

He’d rather be alone, honestly. But he hasn’t seen Baekhyun since his birthday party, a month ago.  
When he remembers this, it instantly sends him in yet another loop of self-loathing. Now that winter session was over and he had to stay at home all the time before school starts again, Kyungsoo had unfortunately a lot of free time to mull over the whole issue.

“I asked if you had an idea for Minseok hyung’s and Henry hyung’s graduation party. Heeyeon noona said strippers aren’t an option, so... Kyungsoo !” Baekhyun calls, making the younger man jolt again.

“What ?”

“You ‘ _spaced out_ ’ again. What’s wrong ?”

“Nothing. Sorry. I’m just thinking about...next week.”

“Wow, I didn’t know course registration for the spring semester could make someone so gloomy,” Baekhyun snorts, “Seriously, what’s wrong ?”

“It’s raining.”

“No shit, Sherlock. You left puddles everywhere when you came in earlier.”

“Sorry.”

“Okay, no, this isn’t gonna work,” the older says with a sigh, “What the fuck is going on with you today ?”

“Look, I obviously don’t wanna talk about _what the fuck is wrong with me_ , so can you drop it ?” Kyungsoo snaps, clicking his tongue.

Baekhyun observes him for a few seconds, eyes squinted and lips pursed, and Kyungsoo is almost sure his best friend is gonna keep pushing.

“So, rain. Storm and all that.”

“Yeah. I forgot my umbrella.”

“I noticed.”

“You don’t seem worried by the fact that I could’ve been struck by lightning on my way here,” Kyungsoo sneers.

“Eh, that’d be quite an explosive death !” Baekhyun smirks, obviously proud of his pun and Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, lips tucking upward, “I’d have inherited everything you own ! Maybe I would’ve been finally able to learn how to play all those instruments without having to buy them !”

At that, Kyungsoo chortles and instantly sees Baekhyun’s face light up, most likely happy he finally managed to cheer up his best friend.

“What makes you think I’d put you in my will ?” Kyungsoo mocks.

“Pshh who would you even give all your belongings to ? The _chicken_ ? Please,” the older scoffs in a cocky voice.

And this is all it takes for Kyungsoo’s mind to go down again.

“Soo ?”

“Mmh ?”

“Your face. It went from _Yay_ to _Bleh_ in less than a second,” Baekhyun explains, mimicking Kyungsoo’s facial expression with exaggeration, “Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong now ?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Right, like I’m gonna buy that. Spill the bean, cute penguin.”

“No but for real, it’s nothing important.”

“If it’s not important, then you can tell me !” Baekhyun says, as if it made sense. It does, in a way. “Is it about the chi- I mean, Jongin ?” Kyungsoo stays silent and subtly looks away, “It is. Okay, tell me. Now.”

“Baek, it’s really-”

“Oh, cut the bullshit,” Baekhyun interrupts him, looking quite upset, “Look, it’s not because my relationship is a mess right now that you can’t talk to me about yours !”

“We’re not in a rela-”

“Then _why_ aren’t you talking to me ?!” the older barks, now clearly mad.

“Cause you’re gonna tell me I’m stupid !” Kyungsoo yells back, “And I know that already ! I don’t need you to rub salt in the wound !”

This seems to calm Baekhyun right on the spot and the boy blinks at Kyungsoo, slowly opening his lips to take a deep breath.

“What if... What if I promise I won’t say you’re stupid ?”

“You will,” Kyungsoo grumbles.

“Then I promise I’ll try to...say it as nicely as I can.”

Kyungsoo loudly sighs, hands ruffling his hair before he presses his face in his palms.

“Deal.”

\--

It takes Kyungsoo almost an hour to tell the whole story, starting with what happened at his birthday party while Baekhyun was dead drunk, comatosing on Junmyeon’s couch. Just this already earns a gasp from Baekhyun as Kyungsoo quickly realizes no one had informed him of the whole Hyunsik incident.  
Illustrating his words with his phone in his hands, he shows his best friends the Kakaotalk conversations with Jongin before that day, plays the voice note, makes him read all the still unanswered – and unread – messages from the dancer, as well as Sehun’s suspicious text from the day after the party. He shows him the texts Jongin had sent him the day of his exam, and tells him about how guilty he feels but how he just doesn’t know how to reach out and talk to Jongin now that so much time has passed. He points at his phone, wincing as he shows him the last message from the boy was from _days_ ago.  
Baekhyun keeps mostly quiet during the whole monologue, only nodding, but the more he explains, the more Kyungsoo sees horror gradually paint his best friend’s face.

Voice hoarse from so much talking, he finally locks his phone and place it beside him on the mattress.

Baekhyun is still silent but the younger boy can clearly see he wants to say something. And indeed, he doesn’t need to wait long.

“Wow. Soo, you’re being so fucking stupid, I’m shook,” he deadpans and Kyungsoo groans, letting himself fall back on the bed, arm covering his eyes.

“I know, shut up.”

“Have you even _read_ all his kakao texts since the party ?”

“No. I don’t want to.”

“Why not ?”

“He probably sent super nice messages and I’m gonna feel even worse.” When a minute has passed and Baekhyun still hasn’t answered, Kyungsoo lifts his arms and open an eye only to see Baekhyun staring at him with a knowing look, “What ?”

“...Nothing,” his best friend replies with a sigh, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

“ _What_ ?”

“I promised I’d be nice, so _nothing_ ,” Baekhyun replies before he claps Kyungsoo’s thigh, “Now come on, we need to skype Chanyeol and Junmyeon hyung to plan the graduation party.”

Blowing a raspberry, Kyungsoo reluctantly sits back up as Baekhyun grabs his laptop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the curious ones, here's the choreo Sehun’s and Kyungsoo’s routine is based on : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsVXnCGij5o  
> I try not to overwhelm the description with technical dance vocabulary so everyone could more or less be able to visualize it even without watching the video.
> 
> As always, talk to me in the comment and tell me what you think :) !


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brace yourself…and please refrain your urge to shish kebab me ^-^ !

The party ends up being a total success, despite the lack of strippers – Chanyeol’s words, not his. The boys were all quite bummed out, knowing they wouldn’t see Henry and Minseok as often as they used to. But the unexpected news of Jongdae transferring to their school had managed to cheer them all up. Although, during the party, when the boy thanked him, Kyungsoo’s mind had deemed a good idea to remind him _he_ was indeed the one telling Jongdae to try once again, thanks to _Jongin_ ’s advice. That simple thought had resulted in a few more rounds of shots, just to make sure his brain would shut up.

Which was most likely why he found himself groaning in pain as he woke up lying on a couch the next morning. It took him a few second to remember he had decided to stay at Junmyeon’s place after the party, too hammered to go home. He wasn’t really a fan of throwing up in a subway car, thank you very much.

A grunt on his left had caught is attention, but his head hurt too much for him to lift it and check. He didn’t need to, though.

“I’m think I’m dying,” Baekhyun’s raspy voice said from the floor.

“Same here.”

“My head is gonna explode. I’m pretty sure we’ve been drugged.”

“What ?” Kyungsoo had asked, confused, blinking at the white ceiling.

“I don’t know, someone must’ve put vodka in the vodka.”

“....What ?”

A long gravelly whine was the only answer he got.

  
And three days after, he still isn’t sure the hangover left. For half an hour, he’s been on the phone with Baekhyun, who’s pretty much in the same state and keeps bringing up the drug hypothesis, no matter how much sense it _doesn’t_ make.  
And he still doesn’t make much more sense when he brings up the ‘chicken issue’ as he calls it, asking if Kyungsoo had, quote, “grew some jambags and finally texted him back”.

“Baek, I think it’s a bit too late now. I seriously wouldn’t know what to tell him.”

“Send an emoji,” Baekhyun suggests, “One emoji can speak thousand words.”

Sure.

“Is there one that says ‘ _sorry I fucked up big time_ ’ ?”

“Maybe the praying hands and...the poo one ? Wait no. No no no, that could mean you’re praying for his number two to go well and that’d be awkward. You guys are already awkward enough as it is. No need to pile up some more.”

That would’ve usually been the cue for Kyungsoo to end the call. But after almost an hour of babbling, Baekhyun still hasn’t told him why he called in the first place. So, during the little silence that follows, Kyungsoo decides to ask him. And Baekhyun’s hesitant voice when he answers has his heart tightening.

“I’m supposed to see her, tonight.”

“Oh. That’s...good, right ? You guys are gonna talk.”

Along with Henry and Minseok, Taeyeon had also graduated the week before but as far as Kyungsoo knew, she hadn’t talked to Baekhyun since the day of his birthday party. More than a month without any contact, that was a record for those two who used to be constantly texting each other.

“Yeah, I hope. I’m scared, to be honest.”

“I know,” Kyungsoo sighs, “But I’m sure it’s gonna be fine.”

“You really think so ?”

“Yeah. Look, Baek, she loves you. I know she does. She wouldn’t have stayed with you for _so long_ if she didn’t.” he says in a nice and joking tone, trying to make Baekhyun smile and get some of his characteristic confidence back.

He gets rewarded when he hears a light chuckle.

“I guess. I know she still plans on leaving but...it could work anyway, right ?”

“Hell yeah ! You’re the most persuasive person I know. I’m sure she’ll see your point if you really try to explain it to her.”

“I don’t wanna lose her.”

“Then you don’t have to ! You just need to tell her tha- Ow !”

“What ?”

“My phone just rang into my ear. Shit, that hurts !”

“Well, I didn’t do anything !” Baekhyun defends himself and Kyungsoo can almost see him lift his hands up to prove his innocence.

“I know that. I just got a text.”

“From who ?”

“Wait, I’ll put you on speaker... Oh. _Oh_ ,” he says a few swipes on his phone later.

“What is it ? Stop the suspense !”

“It’s uhm...it’s Sehun.”

“Sehun the dancing giraffe ?”

“The danc- what ?”

“What does he say ?”

“Uhm...he’s asking me if I wanna go have a drink tonight.”

“I’m sorry, _what_ ? Since when- Okay, wait a minute, read me the text. Don’t skip anything.”

“ _Hi hyung ! How are you ? So, since we didn’t get to celebrate after we absolutely nailed that routine,  I was wondering if you wanted to go grab a drink in a bar tonight ? The spring semester starts on Monday, so we might not have another chance in a while to really have fun ! Som-_ ”

“Shit !” Baekhyun suddenly shouts, “The guy is asking you on a date ? I thought you told me he was straight !”

“I wasn’t done,” Kyungsoo sighs, “There’s more, chill your nipples.”

“Oh. Okay, go on.”

“ _Some of my friends (from other schools too) will be here. You can bring people too if you want, it’d be fun ! We’re supposed to meet around 9pm so let me know soon, okay ? See ya hyung ! We hope you’ll join us !”_

“Oh wow,” Baekhyun breathes out, “Okay, not a date.”

“Definitely not a date.”

“Are we on the same page here ? I’m not the only one who got the subtle hints, right ?”

“No. I got them too,” Kyungsoo utters, still staring at his phone screen.

“He wouldn’t have mentioned the ‘ _friends from other schools’_ just like that...”

“Right.”

“And ‘ _they_ ’ hope you’ll join...”

“Yeah.”

“The chicken’s gonna be there.”

“Probably.”

“Okay, a little enthusiasm here would be nice !” Baekhyun sighs.

“Fuck, Baekhyun I can’t go !”

“Alright, not the reaction I anticipated but at least it was a full sentence. We’re getting somewhere.”

“Screw you.”

“No thanks. Why can’t you go, though ?”

“Seriously ?” Kyungsoo asked in a disbelieving tone, “You _know_ why !”

“No I don’t !”

“I just-“

“Listen,” Baekhyun cuts him, “You always tell me how awkward it is for you to talk to people online, right ? Cause you can’t _see_ their reactions.”

“So ?”

“God, you’re stupid. Soo, if you go, and Jongin is there, then you’ll be _in front of him_. Not behind your screen anymore. Poof, no more awkwardness !”

“But-“

“Nuh uh, no but’s !”

“B-“

“I said no ! Okay let’s...make a deal !”

“What kind of deal ?” Kyungsoo grumbles, sulking to be addressed like a child.

“You’re gonna go. And you’re going to talk to Jongin.”

“That’s not a deal. That’s just an order...”

“While _I_ will go and see noona. And I’ll talk to her, and make her see that even if we live far apart, it can still work !”

Kyungsoo is pretty sure Baekhyun’s part of the bargain is what he had already planned on doing. But maybe it could be some kind of encouragement for himself if he went through it. Knowing they were both trying to fix things with someone.  
He doesn’t like it, but he should stop being a coward. And after spending all his time with Sehun for a month, he kinda misses the guy. It’d be nice seeing him too.  
So after a little silence, he exhales loudly.

“Okay, fine.”

“Yes !” Baekhyun whoops, probably raising a fist in the air, “Okay, text him back now.”

“I’ll do it lat-“

“I don’t trust you. Do it now.”

Under close supervision – read : Baekhyun trying to dictate every word and Kyungsoo having to censor most of it – he manages to write a short message.

“Read it to me again,” Baekhyun instructs, taking this way too seriously for Kyungsoo’s taste.

“Fine. ‘ _Hey Sehun. I’m good, what about you ? I was a bit surprised by the invitation but that could be cool !_ ”

“You put an exclamation point here, right ?”

“Yes, Baekhyun. Like you told me ten times while I was writing it.”

“Good, he needs to see you _really_ think it’d be cool ! Keep going !” he urges and Kyungsoo sighs through his nose.

“ _Just text me where you guys are meeting and I’ll swing by ! It’ll be nice to get to know your friends too !_ ”

“Perfect ! It’s subtle but you still sound excited about it. Just perfect ! I’m a genius.”

“Yeah, we’re just gonna forget the pun about the swing thing you wanted me to make.”

“Hey it was funny ! Inappropriate, but funny !”

 “Well, at least you admit it,” he snorts, “Okay, it’s sent. I’m gonna go take a shower, so...”

“Yeah, go make yourself all pretty for chicken boy,” Baekhyun teases.

“Shut up.”

“Hey, I know you wanna make good impression, don’t lie ! You think he’s cute !”

“Fine, I do. So what ?”

“So nothing ! I’m cool with it ! I won’t even say ‘ _I told you so_ ’ !

“Shut up,” Kyungsoo repeats, this time with a chuckle because _of course_ Baekhyun would bring that up again despite promising he wouldn’t, “When are you seeing her ?”

“Around 8pm.”

“Okay. Text me to tell me how it went ?”

“Yep. You do the same.”

Right when he hangs up, his phone pings again and a new message is displayed on the screen.

  
From : **Oh Sehun**  
1:25pm-  
_Yehet ! The bar’s called the_ Tactix _, it’s in Jongno-gu, not too far from the_ Gwangjang _market. You should find it easily. See you at 9pm over there ! We can’t wait !_

  
Again with the ‘ _we_ ’. Sehun is a lot less subtle than he thinks.

  
♪♫

  
A few hours later, Kyungsoo is in his music room, playing guitar to pass time – read : he’s nervous as fuck and composing a song was hard enough to demand all his concentration so he wouldn’t have to think about what was gonna happen later that night.

He’s trying yet another chords progression – since the last five didn’t seem to work, for absolutely no reason -  when he sighs and puts his pretty baby back on her stand.

“It’s not your fault, don’t worry,” he tells the instrument, patting the side of her neck.

He should get ready anyway.

  
Kyungsoo is halfway done with styling his hair – which clearly doesn’t want to cooperate today either – when Baekhyun texts him a meme of an adorable smiling quokka, captioned with “Good luck !”

He chuckles and replies with a similar one. Looking at the time, Baekhyun is probably on his way to his girlfriend’s apartment. Which means Kyungsoo should hurry the hell up if he doesn’t want to be late.

He goes back to his bedroom and picks a pair of faded blue ripped jeans after throwing on a grey hoodie above a t-shirt. This should go with his black leather jacket and his trusty Timberlands. Maybe some matching beanie and scarf, too.

  
8:30pm and Kyungsoo is almost inside the subway station, looking for his pass inside his wallet as the winter wind hits his face. Scarf and beanie were a _very good_ idea, he mentally pats himself on the head.

More anxious than ever, Kyungsoo’s cold fingers finally pull out the transportation pass when his phone’s ringtone echoes in the busy street.

Baekhyun name is on the screen, along with that new derp picture of him he got from a Snapchat screenshot.

“Hey Baek ! I’m about to take the subway now so you’ll have to go straight to the point !” Kyungsoo laughs, walking again towards the station door to shelter himself from the wind, “How did it go ? Did you guys work things up and had awesome make up sex ?”

“Soo...”

Baekhyun’s voice cracks. Kyungsoo freezes.

“Baek... Baek, you okay ?”

“Soo...” the older says and Kyungsoo’s heart breaks, “She broke up with me.”

“Fuck,” he quietly breathes out, “Okay, I’ll be at your dorm in fifteen minutes. Wait for me there. It’s gonna be okay.”

The next second, Kyungsoo has turned around, wallet back in his pocket and starts jogging towards the university campus.

  
To : **Oh Sehun  
** 8:42pm-  
_hey Sehun, me again. I’m really sorry but something came up. I can’t come. have fun anyway._  
 

To : **Oh Sehun  
** 8:42pm-  
_sorry again._

  
From : **Oh Sehun  
** 8:44pm-  
_:( It’s okay. Hope it’s nothing too serious._

  
As he enters the dorms building and makes a beeline to the stairs, Kyungsoo sends a quick prayer.  
He knows Sehun and his friends must already be at the bar. And he really hopes Jongin won’t read his texts. He doesn’t want the boy to see how easily he apologized to Sehun. Twice in a minute. When he wasn’t even fucking able to do the same to Jongin once in a month and a half.

He’s panting when he finally arrives in front of Baekhyun’s door. He doesn’t knock, knowing his best friend has the bad habit of never locking it when he’s inside, doesn’t even take the time to brace himself, before he grabs the handle and pushes.

And if Baekhyun’s voice had broken his heart on the phone earlier, it’s nothing compared to what he sees when he steps in.

  
♪♫

  
Kyungsoo is mad.

Really mad.

Not the kind of mad you would be after accidentally spilling tomato sauce on a brand new white shirt. That’s a nice and sweet kind of mad.

Kyungsoo is experiencing a whole upgraded level of mad.

The kind you’d be after your ex, the one _you_ dumped, transferred into your school, kept trying to talked to you, bothered your best friend and tried to persuade them to talk to you so you would _give in_ , showed up at your birthday party, kissed you while you were drunk, and by some kind of miracle – the kind of miracle people like Kyungsoo nicely call _stalking_ – ended up in almost every single one of your classes. For a whole semester. And to top everything, imagine said ex uses your good grades as an argument to ask one of your teachers to pair you up for that course’s semester project, because, _he’s still new to the school and working with one of the top student who is also a friend could really help him adjust more easily_. Boohoo poor baby.

Yeah.

That’s the kind of mad Kyungsoo is at the moment.

Oh, he tried to talk to the teacher. But Hyunsik knows how to be convincing. And being the grandson of another Art School’s president surely helps. A fucking lot.  
 

It has only been a week since the new semester started, and it was definitely not what Kyungsoo hoped it would be. As if he doesn’t already have enough stuff to handle, now he also has to deal with Im Fucking Hyunsik.

The guy seems determined to interact with Kyungsoo. Or rather, to have Kyungsoo being forced to interact with him. Obviously, Kyungsoo can’t tell him to fuck off during class. And Hyunsik knows that very well. Uses it to his advantage.

Kyungsoo knew the boy was clingy and annoying. It was the main reason why he broke up with him. But man, he never thought Hyunsik could be such a fucking manipulative bitch. Pardon his French, Kyungsoo is mad and if you didn’t get it by now, well, scroll up and read it again.

  
Actually, Kyungsoo is _extra_ mad, right now. In half an hour, he has a class that Hyunsik takes too and the guy is probably gonna try to sit next to him _again_ , and try to talk to him _again_ , and it will annoy the hell out of Kyungsoo. _Again_.

No need to say he isn’t exactly in a hurry to get there.

He just got out of the library, walking slowly, when his text message ringtone echoes in the patio and Kyungsoo grits his teeth. He swears to god, if it is Hyunsik _again_ – he kinda _had to_ give the boy his number, for the fucking project -, he will probably rip the head of the next person he crosses path with. Oh hey, look at that ! Now Kyungsoo almost want to see Hyunsik come and talk to him. Dismembering him sounds like a good idea, right ? He surely wouldn’t say so much shit if he didn’t have his head !

However, his anger goes down in a heartbeat when he sees the name on his screen.

During the past week, Baekhyun hasn’t exactly kept in touch with his friends. Understandable, of course, but still worrying. Kyungsoo tried to spend time with him as often as he could but with the new semester beginning, Hyunsik always breathing down his neck, his schedule for videos back now that he had used all the pre-recorded ones, and the issue with Jongin still in the back of his mind... Well, Kyungsoo hasn’t really been able to focus on his best friend as much as he should.

And it makes him mad at himself. Add that to the list of stuff going wrong these days.

He sighs, shaking his head to try and concentrate on the message he received.

To his surprise, despite the contact name being his best friend’s, the person who wrote the text is not.  
 

From : **Annoying Bunny  
** 3:36pm-  
_Hey Kyungsoo, it’s Seokjin, Baekhyun’s classmate. He forgot his phone on his desk. He left in the middle of class, I’m not sure what happened. I hope you can check up on him. I’ll take notes for him so he doesn’t miss on anything and I’ll bring them with his phone to the FM department’s front office._

  
_That_ was definitely worrying.  
 

To : **Annoying Bunny  
** 3:38pm-  
_okay, thanks for telling me, I’m gonna try to find him._

  
Let’s be honest, Kyungsoo doesn’t like skipping classes. But neither does Baekhyun. So if the boy darted out during his lesson, it’s probably serious.

Well at least he won’t be seeing Hyunsik as soon as he was supposed to. You know, just trying to see the silver lining here.

He hastily texts Hyunseong – who, _thank God_ , is in most of his classes too – so he can inform their teacher Kyungsoo won’t attend the lesson today. As he pockets his phone back, he takes the next right alley between two university building to get to the dorms. It seems like the most logical place Baekhyun could have gone to, so he decides to start there. He’ll think of something else if his best friend isn’t in his room.

“Hyung ?” Kyungsoo jolts at the call, looking right and left to find the owner of the familiar voice, “Hyung, over here !”

“Sehun, hey !” he greets with a smile as the dancer goes down some stairs.

“You okay ? You looked quite upset ?”

“Yeah, I just...I need to go see Baekhyun quickly. Something happened and... I don’t know, to be honest.”

“Does it have something to do with last week ? When you couldn’t come ?” Sehun asks, clearly concerned even if Kyungsoo is sure the boy never even met Baekhyun.

“Yeah. He...got some bad news from someone close to him and now he... Well, he’s not in the best shape.”

“Ah, I hope he’ll get better soon. He seems to be a bright person.”

“He is,” Kyungsoo nods before he frowns, chewing the inside of his cheek, “Look, Sehun, I’m really sorry I couldn’t come. I was on my way, for real. But then...”

“It’s fine hyung !” Sehun smiles is a bit too wide, as he shakes his hands in front of him, “Don’t worry ! I mean, yes we were a bit sad you couldn’t join, but it couldn’t be helped, right ?”

‘ _We_.’

 _Again_.

“Mmh. Still, I’m sorry.”

Apologizing so easily.

 _Again_.

“Don’t be, really ! You’ll come next time !”

“Sure,” he nods, “I’m sorry, I really gotta go.”

Okay, now he’s just throwing apologies everywhere like wads of cash in a rap music video.

Idiot.

He bids Sehun goodbye and starts walking away when he’s called again.

“Hyung !” Kyungsoo looks back, only to see the boy isn’t smiling anymore, “I _really_ hope you’ll join us next time. But for now take care of Baekhyun-ssi. I know how hard and painful it is to see your best friend hurting because of _someone close to him_.”

Kyungsoo looks down, not wanting to see the seriousness on Sehun’s face. Clearly, the boy is a little bit more inclined to _interfere_ than he was a month ago. The underlying message was clear enough. Using Kyungsoo’s own words against him.

So he just nods, glancing up just for a second before he leaves for good.

 _Fuck_.

  
It’s only when he gets to the dormitory building’s front door that Kyungsoo stops mulling over and finally remembers he has more important matter to take care of at the moment.

He flies up the stairs, walking briskly in the long hallway until he stands in front of Baekhyun’s door.

Baekhyun’s _locked_ door.

A minute and some knocks later, nobody has answered yet. He tries again. Still nothing.

“Baekhyun ?” More knocking, “Baek, it’s me.”

Kyungsoo leans in and presses his ear against the wood, trying to focus on what is happening on the other side. It’s completely silent for a few seconds, until he hears it.

“Baek. I know you’re in here,” he says, detaching himself from the door and resuming his knocking, “I can hear the clicks of your laptop’s touchpad. Come on, open up.”

A student exits the apartment a few doors away and Kyungsoo bows politely as the boy greets him.

“Baek, seriously. If you don’t let me in, I’m gonna have to go to class. I really, _really_ don’t wanna see Hyunsik, right now. So please, can you open the d-”

A metallic snap cuts him, and the door finally opens.

“How did you know I was here ?” Baekhyun says, voice hoarse giving away the fact that he had been crying.

Well, that and the red and swollen eyes.

“One of your classmates texted me from your phone. Your forgot it in class.”

“Oh.”

Baekhyun nods, looking away before he turns around and walk up to his bed, taking his cat in his arms and snuggling her in his neck. Kyungsoo takes that as an invitation to enter the room.

“He said you left in the middle of class,” he adds, closing the door behind him and taking off his shoes, “What happened ?” All he gets as an answer is a shrug as Baekhyun crawls back under his blanket and Kyungsoo sighs, “Don’t feel like talking about it ?”

“Not really, no.”

Well, that was to be expected, wasn’t it ?

Kyungsoo never experienced what his best friend is going though, so he isn’t sure what kind of advice he could offer to make him feel better.  
Is there even really something to say in this kind of situation ? ‘ _You’re gonna be okay_ ’ sounds like the go-to sentence people use in movies. And albeit probably true, it was surely not what someone heartbroken needed to hear.

But if _he_ isn’t fit to help his best friend, who would be ?

After a few seconds of thinking, the answer is obvious.

The one with an undeniable talent to cheer people up when they were really down. Baekhyun himself.

But, well, Baekhyun isn’t available right now. So Kyungsoo takes a deep breath, and makes up his mind. He’ll just have to act like his best friend.

“Hey. Wanna watch a movie together ?” he says, pointing out his chin towards the abandoned laptop. Baekhyun looks up at him with a sniffle and Kyungsoo can see his lips tremble before he nods, “Okay, scoot over, I’m freezing.”

The twin-sized bed is ridiculously small, but they somehow manage to fit on it.

From the corner of his eyes, Kyungsoo can see new tears silently run down his best friend’s cheeks, but he doesn’t say anything, doesn’t even look at him. He doesn’t even utter a word when Livia climbs on his lap and start pawing at his tights through the blanket.

The movie starts.

And buried under the covers, a purring cat curled up on both of them, Kyungsoo keeps his eyes locked on the screen as he grabs Baekhyun hand and hold it securely.

  
♪♫

  
Did you ever feel like patting yourself on the head for succeeding in a task you were hesitant about ?

Because this is what Kyungsoo is considering doing, right now.

This ‘ _do-what-Baekhyun-would-do_ ’ thing had been working unexpectedly well for the past week, and Kyungsoo is feeling like he has _finally_ done something good.

Of course, Baekhyun isn’t back to his normal self – nobody would in his situation – but there was at least some sort of progress made.

Like how he managed to get Baekhyun to actually go out tonight. As in _outside_. In a _bar_.  
For his best friend, who had spent the week locked in his room as soon as classes were over – or even when he had class sometimes –, that’s a huge achievement.

And Kyungsoo is proud of himself for convincing him, _Baekhyun-style_.

Yeah. By bribing him.

  
From : **Annoying Bunny  
** 5:03pm-  
_Idk, I’m not feeling like it_  
 

To : **Annoying Bunny  
** 5:05pm-  
_I’ll let you pick my outfit. and put eyeliner on me._

  
From : **Annoying Bunny  
** 5:07pm-  
_Without complaining?_

  
To : **Annoying Bunny  
** 5:08pm-  
_without complaining_

  
From : **Annoying Bunny  
** 5:10pm-  
_What about highlighter?_

  
To : **Annoying Bunny  
** 5:10pm-  
_don’t push your luck_

  
From : **Annoying Bunny  
** 5:11pm-  
_Tinted chapstick?_

  
To : **Annoying Bunny  
** 5:11pm-  
_fine._

  
From : **Annoying Bunny  
** 5:12pm-  
_Okay then_

  
Hey, don’t judge. He had gotten Baekhyun agree to go out !

And it’s with a small proud smile that he makes his way over his best friend’s dorm room two hours later.

They would go in a bar, have a few drinks, talk about anything but _you-know-what_ – better start now, right ? – and if Kyungsoo was talented enough, he would even maybe get Baekhyun to smile. Or even laugh !

That was the goal. And even the torrential rain would not stop him.

Thankfully, he hasn’t forgotten his umbrella this time. Although it’s not really useful at the moment, seeing how drenched he is.

But still, nothing would hinder his plan.

...

“Kyungsoo !”

No one.

He should’ve said _no one_.

“Kyungsoo, wait !”

Fuck.

Of course. _Of course_.

Of course it was not enough for Hyunsik that Kyungsoo agreed to go have coffee with him the next week. Before you start screaming at him, yes he did agree, no he wasn’t _forced_ or blackmailed, and no he doesn’t wanna talk about it for now. He is a bit busy at the moment. Escaping the hell out of here.

“Kyungsoo !”

Nope.

In a heartbeat, Kyungsoo starts powerwalking. He would run, really. But the rain is making the ground way too slippery, and falling wouldn’t be a good strategy if he wants to lose Hyunsik behind.

He probably looks like those racewalking athletes Baekhyun loved to mimic in PE, back in high school, but who cares. Nobody must be paying attention to him right now anyway, too busy trying to find shelter for the tsunami falling from the sky.

“Kyungsoo !”

“Oh for fuck’s sake.”

Holding onto his umbrella like his life depended on it, Kyungsoo keeps walking fast. He still has a chance of escaping. He knows the university grounds better than Hyunsik does. He’s been there longer, knows the shortcuts.

Like the one in front of him, kind of. As he arrives in the huge central yard, Kyungsoo knows he has two options. Number one, taking the alleys following the buildings around the yard. Number two, crossing the yard in a beeline.

Number one is safe. Gravel paths are not that dangerous to walk on. But it’ll take longer.  
Number two, however, will be quicker. But grass and rain rarely make a good combo if you’re in a hurry.

“Kyungsoo ! Hey, wait !”

Well, grass it is !

Kyungsoo steps over the low post and chain fence and starts taking careful steps on the slippery ground, internally crying for his poor white sneakers now covered in mud. But a swift look behind him almost makes him want to abandon the shoes behind.

Thankfully, Hyunsik seems to have deemed the grass a tad too dangerous and has taken the long way around the yard. And even if Kyungsoo gets slowed down trying not to faceplant on the soaked lawn, he’s still a good step ahead Hyunsik.

“Kyungsoo, seriously, wait !”

When he reaches the edge, he quickly leaps over the fence. His heels slides on the wet concrete and it’s only by some divine miracle that he catches his balance back and starts walking again.

A minute and two turns later, he can’t see nor hear Hyunsik anymore, so Kyungsoo gradually stops to catch his breath, panting as he leans against a wall, umbrella somehow still in his hand.

That was _not_ fun !

He takes a look around him to try and situate himself. He is almost sure the building on his left is the one reserved to the Drama majors. So if he takes the next alley on his right, he should-

“Kyungsoo !”

“Are you fucking kidding me ?” Kyungsoo breathes out, pushing himself away from the wall and resuming his power walking.

Why ? _Why_ did he decide to wear a bright red hoodie this morning ? In the monochromatic gloomy day, he must look like a giant target for Hyunsik. He’s pretty sure if there was a satellite flying over South Korea right now, they would see him too.  
That’s what he gets for wanting to make Baekhyun smile by _not_ wearing black.

You’d think he could’ve entered a building and hide, instead of just running away under the rain, but let’s be honest, if Hyunsik manages to catch him in the maze of buildings, how fast do you think he would catch up _inside_. Kyungsoo would be cornered right away.

More turns, more alleys, and after yet another look back, he thinks he may have finally lost the insistent guy. Or at least he isn’t in Hyunsik’s field of vision anymore. Kyungsoo can still hear him calling his name, though, and he isn’t about to do the same mistake twice.  
So he speeds up his pace once more, hoping he will be able to outrun Hyunsik and the guy will finally decide to fucking _let him go_.

He sees a chance when his eyes catch a little pathway a few meters ahead, on his left. A shortcut. He knows this one. The alley is quite narrow, and he would have to pass over another low metal fence right before making a sharp turn, but if he follows that pathway, it will lead him right to the school’s front office. From there, he’ll only have to keep walking straight and he’ll be at the dorms building in no time.

Sounds like a plan.

He throws a rapid look behind, just to make sure Hyunsik hasn’t catch up, and then he bolts forward.

-

Did you know that Kyungsoo broke his wrist when he was twelve years old ? No ? Well, he did !  
Because he thought he would be a good idea to run and jump over the swing’s seat in his backyard, even if the lawn was still drenched after the rain.  
Baekhyun would deny he was the one suggesting it, though.  
He ended up in the hospital, of course. And he had to wear a cast for the next forty-five days.

Yeah, try and play guitar or piano when your arm is in a cast.

And it wasn’t even a cool one ! No. Just a boring white cast. So thirteen-year-old Baekhyun had decided to make it prettier and had drawn an elaborate bouquet of dicks on it. A very colorful bouquet, must he point out. But a bouquet of dicks nonetheless.

So on top of having a cast, Kyungsoo had also ended up grounded by his parents. And teased by Seungsoo.

-

So, really, Kyungsoo should know better. He should at least take a few seconds to _think_. Hyunsik is way behind. Kyungsoo could definitely slow down to step over that fence and make that turn. But he really, really, _really_ doesn’t want to have to deal with Hyunsik right now.

So he does not think.

But jump, he does.

It takes him approximately two points zero eight microseconds to understand that he fucked up.

The moment his right foot touches the drenched concrete, his balance decided to go take a walk somewhere else, and it’s with arms flailing around and an umbrella flying away that Kyungsoo feels himself topple backward, bracing himself for the impact.

 _Suddenly, a hand grabs his waist and pulls him up, preventing him from colliding with the hard cold ground, and he finds himself pressed against a warm chest_.

This is what Kyungsoo would like to tell you.

Unfortunately, knights in shining armor rarely pop up out of nowhere to save people in distress.

An heartbeat later, he’s completely soaked. From the rain, from the puddle in landed in, from the tears he’s crying not so deep inside.

It fucking hurts.

And, well, it’s been already established today is not his lucky day.

So he isn’t even surprised when, still mid groan, he hears Hyunsik voice way closer than he’d wish.

“Kyungsoo !”

But then, even closer, coming from the pathway he was supposed to dash in.

“Hyung ?”

From the ground, Kyungsoo’s neck cracks as he turns his head, eyes opening comically.

 _That_ , he didn’t expect.

“Jongin ?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Mic drop*
> 
> Okay :)…. Imma let you go scream in the comments now ^-^.  
> In case you don’t know what you want to say, here’s an idea :  
> Press 1 if you wanna slap Taeyeon  
> Press 2 if you wanna slap Hyunsik  
> Press 3 if you wanna slap Kyungsoo  
> Press 4 if you wanna slap the author xD


	13. Chapter 13

Kyungsoo is frozen, both literally and figuratively.

Clothes soaked with icy and muddy water, he remains completely still, staring at Jongin, who blinks at him with a shocked expression. His face is partially hidden by the faux fur of his grey coat’s giant hood. But Kyungsoo can still see his eyes wide open, eyebrows disappearing under his fluffy pastel pink bangs.

He’s pretty sure his own eyes are at least twice as big as Jongin’s right now.

After a long moment of silence, Jongin is the first to speak.

“Hyung, are you okay ?”

His voice sounds familiar, in a weird way. He heard it a lot in videos, or even on the phone, before Kyungsoo splendidly messed up and started rejecting Jongin’s call. But it sounds different in real life. Smoother, deeper.  
Better.

“I... You...”

Water is falling in his eyes, forcing him to blink the stinging sensation away as he keeps staring at the dancer, still not entirely sure Jongin is really in front of him.

This isn’t good.

Kyungsoo still hasn’t figured out what he was supposed to say to the boy. And right now, with mud all over and rain sipping through his clothes, it feels like karma decided to pay him back for what he did.

What other explanation could there be, really ?

A little voice in the back of his mind – oddly sounding like Baekhyun’s – is teasing him. He fucked up and hurt Jongin. And now he looked all pathetic and miserable in front of him. Well, karma was known to be a bitch. But as much as he doesn’t like it, Kyungsoo can still admits he deserves it.

Jongin is still immobile, looking like he doesn’t know if he should say something, help or just leave. And if Kyungsoo has to be honest, he doesn’t have a clue of what he would prefer between those options.

However, Karma doesn’t seem to be done with its torture.

“Kyungsoo !”

Hyunsik’s voice is way, _way_ too close for Kyungsoo’s taste, and after quickly looking back, he spots his ex-boyfriend rapidly marching towards him.

“Shit.”

Without thinking further, he gets on his feet, slipping a bit and groaning in pain when he puts some weight on his left hand. _That_ isn’t good either.

“Kyungsoo, hey !”

He throws a quick look towards Hyunsik who already covered half the distance between them.

A _lot_ of things aren’t good, right now.

Somehow, the only thing crossing Kyungsoo’s mind is that Jongin and Hyunsik went to the same school until last semester and most likely know each other.

And as stupid as it’ll probably sound later, it’s a good enough reason at that moment for him to walk past Jongin and grab his arm before he starts power walking, dragging the confused dancer in the direction he seemingly came from.

Hyunsik calls for him again and Kyungsoo fastens his pace, hand still clamped around Jongin’s forearm.

“Hyung, what-”

“Keep walking !”

Kyungsoo’s mind is reeling, trying to think of a place they could go and hide from his persistent ex-boyfriend.

The answer comes in the form of a deep alcove carved in the building on his right, a few meters ahead.

Right now, this is his best shot. If they go to the end of the pathway, they’ll be out in plain sight with nothing to shield them from Hyunsik’s eyes.

He surges forward, tugging Jongin’s arm, making him awkwardly tumble as he tries to keep up. A moment later, he’s yanking the boy with him into the wall recess, pressing him against the stones and standing in front of him, back facing the alley.

The niche is deep enough to mask them both if someone looked from either end of the pathway. For some reason, his mind starts wondering if the alcove is visible from the inside of the building, trying to remember if the wall is protruding in any way.

“Hyung, what’s going on ?”

Right. Jongin.

“I...uhm... I’m trying to...escape ?” he utters, frowning and awkwardly smiling at the same time because _what the fuck ?_

“Are you okay ?” Jongin asks, eyebrows knitting together.

“What ?”

“That was a pretty bad fall, earlier. Are you hurt ?”

Kyungsoo is confused.

Because Jongin sound _concerned_ , and it doesn’t make sense.

“I... No ? ...Yes ? Uhm- well, my hand...”

_Stop talking_.

Jongin’s eyes drop to look at Kyungsoo’s hand the moment he lifts it to illustrate his word. His palm is scratched, mud and blood mixing with tiny fine chippings and Jongin winces before muttering a quiet “Ouch”.

Seeing the scrapes, Kyungsoo suddenly releases Jongin’s arm, realizing his other hand must be in the same shape, even if it hurts less.

“Oh shit,” he breathes out when he notices a bloody handprint on the sleeve.

“It’s okay, don’t wo-”

“Kyungsoo !”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widen. _Fuck fuck fuck_.

Hyunsik sounds even closer. He probably is _in_ the alley, now.

“Hyung ?” Jongin inquires when he sees Kyungsoo helplessly looking around in panic.

“Shhht !”

“Who is it ?” the dancer whispers, clearly lost, and Kyungsoo just shakes his head, placing his index finger on his lips to tell Jongin to _shut up_.

“Kyungsoo !”

“Fuck !”

The next second, Jongin is dropping his duffel bag on the ground and taking off his parka. His arms circle Kyungsoo, dropping the coat on his shoulder and quickly pulling the heavy hood on Kyungsoo head.

“What are you doing ?” Kyungsoo stage whispers, alarmed.

“Red,” Jongin answers in the same tone, eyeing Kyungsoo’s flamboyant hoodie, “I’m sure they can see you from space.”

He is about to tell the dancer a coat won’t solve the problem, when hands grab his elbows and in a swift motion, he finds himself back against the wall, right where the dancer was before exchanging their positions. Jongin brings the hood of his own black sweatshirt up and angles himself to hide Kyungsoo’s face from view, keeping close.

“Kyungsoo !”

Jongin steps even closer, chest almost pressed against Kyungsoo’s, right as they hear steps coming closer. Without thinking, Kyungsoo drops his head, leaning in towards Jongin to completely hide.

Hyunsik passes behind the dancer, stopping for a long second to look at what might look like a couple snuggling in the alcove and Kyungsoo holds his breath, nose catching a whiff of vanilla and what smells like aftershave.  
As Hyunsik resumes walking towards the end of the alley, Kyungsoo intently listens to make sure the sound of his footsteps is really fading.

He is so focused on trying to hear anything else over the pitter pat of the rain, that he flinches when Jongin chuckles, his chest twitching in front of Kyungsoo’s eyes.

“What’s funny ?” he whispers again, keeping his head close to the dancer’s neck.

“I feel like in a drama,” Jongin answers with a snicker without moving away, “When the male lead saves the girl from the bad guys.”

Kyungsoo can’t help but smile, eyes focused on the chibi poodle printed on Jongin’s hoodie. The situation _is_ kinda cliché, he must admit.

“Am I supposed to bat my lashes and make a duck face while I thank you, then ?” he asks, still in low tones.

Jongin snorts and obviously tries to keep his laughter silent while Kyungsoo bits his lip to contain his grin. He is quite surprised to be able to joke, right now. He doesn’t even feel awkward.

Jongin doesn’t seem to be mad at him. He is _laughing_ , and Kyungsoo thinks it’s _cute_. Puzzling. But cute nonetheless.

And really, now is not the ideal moment for him to realize he finds a lot of things Jongin does, cute.

“Do you think he left ?” the younger quietly asks, warm breath brushing Kyungsoo’s forehead.

 “I don’t know. He could come back.”

If you ask, Kyungsoo would tell you he _is_ a bit worried that Hyunsik might return. But honestly, he is mostly scared because he knows the second he and Jongin move away from each other, the moment will pass, and he’ll have to say something. And he still doesn’t know _what_.

So he lowers his head a bit more, hiding under the hood of Jongin’s coat.

“His voice was familiar,” the dancer says after a minute. Kyungsoo freezes, “Who is it ?”

“Just…someone I don’t wanna see right now,” the older hesitantly answers.

If Sehun kept his mouth shut like he had promised, Jongin was not supposed to know Kyungsoo was gay. And now wasn’t the time to announce it by talking about his ex. Not when his nose was a breath away from Jongin’s neck.

“Believe it or not, that was quite obvious.”

“Really ? What gave me away ?” Kyungsoo asks, smile unconsciously returning on his lips.

“The way you abandoned your umbrella without a second thought, mostly.”

“It’s fine, it’s not mine anyway,” he shrugs, “It was Baekhyun’s. Oh shit ! Baekhyun !” he suddenly shouts, making Jongin jolt and take a step back with a gasp.

“What ? Baekhyun what ?”

“I- I was on my way to his room. He’s waiting for me.”

“Oh, okay,” Jongin chuckles, a hand on his chest as if Kyungsoo had just given him the fright of his life.

“Yeah, I should...” Kyungsoo says, letting his words hanging as he vaguely points towards the direction of the dorms building.

“Sure ! I’m supposed to meet Sehun anyway. I’m crashing at his place for the weekend, so...I should go too,” he answers, pointing the opposite direction, where Kyungsoo had seen him first.

“Okay... Uhm... Oh, wait,” the older exclaims, starting to shrug off the heavy parka.

“No no no, keep it ! You’re soaked, hyung !” Jongin quickly says, hands grabbing the coat to secure it on Kyungsoo’s shoulders

“But you... I mean I might not see you again before you leave...to give it back.”

“It’s fine, I’ll take one of Sehun’s. You know he has tons of clothes,” the dancer grins, tongue poking out of his lips.

_Cute_.

Shut up.

Kyungsoo nods and tries to smile as naturally as possible so Jongin won’t know what he’s thinking. He does remember the younger mentioning Sehun’s parents owned their own clothes shop downtown and gave unlimited access to their son as long as he worked there during school breaks.

“Are you sure ?” he asks, just in case.

“Yes ! You need it more than me, you must be freezing.”

“Okay... Thanks,” he replies with a sheepish smile.

Jongin grins back before grabbing his duffel back and sliding the strap around his shoulders.

“So...maybe I’ll see you around ?” he says, a hand scratching his cheekbone.

“Y-yeah, maybe.”

“Okay... Bye, then ?”

“Yeah...bye.”

_Fuck, this is awkward_.

The waves and smiles they exchange right after are just as awkward and Kyungsoo mentally cringes.  
Something isn’t right, he thinks as he walks away.

The little voice in his head is back, and it’s nagging at him. _Idiot._

Kyungsoo sighs.

_Coward._

He halts his steps and turn on his heels.

“Jongin !”

The boy stops walking and looks back at him.

“Yes ?”

Kyungsoo takes a deep breath.

“I’m really sorry...”

For a moment, Jongin doesn’t do anything but stare at him, so Kyungsoo quickly gather his thoughts to be ready to explain what he is talking about when the younger will ask.

But then, Jongin’s eyes disappear as an adorable smile carves a dimple in his cheek.

“It’s okay, hyung. I’m just glad you’re not mad at me.”

Kyungsoo can’t help but stare, shocked and confused. Did Jongin really thought he was _mad at him_ ?

_Good job, Kyungsoo. You’re an idiot._

Just when is about to leave, Jongin’s voice echoes in the narrow alley.

“Kyungsoo hyung !” He pauses, a shy smile stretching in plump lips, “That means I can keep your phone number, right ?”

Kyungsoo lets out a relieved chuckle.

“Yeah,” he says with a nod before waving one last time and finally walking away.

  
♪♫

  
When he arrives in front of Baekhyun’s door, he still hasn’t stopped grinning. Without thinking, he knocks and waits for his best friend to let him in.

“It was open. And you’re late. What took you so-” Baekhyun cuts himself when he looks at Kyungsoo face, “-long. Why are you smiling like an idiot ?” Then, after a short pause, “And why are you covered in mud ?”

“I just…met Jongin,” Kyungsoo answers, a bit stunned.

It’s only now that he realizes what happened.

“I’m sorry, what ?”

“Just now, Jongin was there,” Kyungsoo says, still sounding out of it even to his own ears as he points his thumb at nothing behind him, “And Hyunsik was... And I... Jongin, he...”

He blinks at Baekhyun and the older blinks back.

“Okay... We’re not going out,” his best friend asserts, “I’m gonna give you some clean clothes and you’re gonna go take a shower while I make some tea. Once we’re both back here, you, mister, are gonna tell me everything.”

Still in shock, Kyungsoo nods.

“Okay.”

Twenty minutes later, Kyungsoo exits the floor’s common bathroom and makes his way back to Baekhyun’s room. Once they’re both settled on the bed, mugs of hot tea in hands and a purring cat between them, Baekhyun orders him to spill everything.

“What the hell happened ? Don’t skip any details !”

“I was on my way here, but Hyunsik popped out of nowhere and called me so...I ran ?

“You _ran_ ?”

“Yeah ? He started chasing me, okay ? I didn’t want to talk to him so I just...fled.”

“Alright,” Baekhyun snorts, “Then what ?”

“Karma decided to strike.”

“What ?”

“There was this fence and it wasn’t that high, and there was this alley, and Hyunsik was like, right behind me. So I just wanted to jump and dash in the alley, you know,” Kyungsoo says, illustrating with his hand and spilling some burning liquid on the blanket.

“Okay, easy, I just got it from the dry cleaner,” Baekhyun grumbles, wiping the fabric with a tissue,  “So, when is the chicken part coming ?”

“Now. I jumped. But it’s _raining_.”

“Uh oh. I think I get how you turned into Chuchidarumon.”

“...Who ?”

“Chuchidarumon. MudFrigimon ? It’s a Digim- You know what ? Nevermind. Keep going.”

“Pokemons are better.”

“Nuh uh, I’m not having this debate again,” Baekhyun says, shaking his head, “Digimons are the best, period. Now explain.”

“Well, I fell. Pretty hard. I could use antiseptic by the way,” Kyungsoo says, lifting his hands, palms up.

Baekhyun gets up and grabs the first aid kit under his bed, dropping it on Kyungsoo’s lap before climbing back under the comforter and gently scratching Livia’s head.

“And…?”

“And Hyunsik was still chasing me. But then Jongin called me ? He was...just there, standing in the alley.”

“Wait, he saw you fall ?” Baekhyun chortles.

“He heard me yelp too,” Kyungsoo adds, grimacing as he throws his head back. Baekhyun takes his hand and starts spraying antiseptic on it, dabbing with sterile gauze and Kyungsoo lets him, “But you know, they went to the same school. So...”

“So ?”

“I grabbed Jongin and...I ran again ?”

As he expected, Baekhyun bursts out laughing, eyes crinkling. It has been a while since Kyungsoo saw him laugh like that, so he can’t even be mad that his best friend is laughing _at him_.

“Then what happened ?” Baekhyun asks, still giggling.

“We...hid ? In an alcove ?”

“Wait I have a question. What is he like ?”

“Uhm...vanilla and peppermint ?”

“Pepperm- Wait what ?”

“His aftershave, I think. It smelled like peppermint.”

“Hold on ! Rewind !” Baekhyun exclaims, eyes widening, “How close of his face were you if you can tell what he _smelled_ like ?”

“Uhm...like, this close ?” Kyungsoo answers, thumb and index finger showing a length around ten centimeters.

“What the hell !!!”

“Hyunsik was still after me ! So...Jongin give me his coat and he kinda...came close to me so my face wouldn’t be visible.”

“Sweet Jesus, bless Hyunsik !”

“What ?”

“What happened then ?” Baekhyun presses, looking genuinely excited for the first time in months.

It takes a few more minutes to recount the whole conversation he and Jongin had, but when he’s done, Baekhyun’s smile is bright and his eyes are sparkling.

“You apologized ! I’m so proud of you !” he says, pinching Kyungsoo’s cheek before getting his hand slapped away, “So now what ?”

“ _Now what_ what ?”

“When are you gonna see him again ?” Baekhyun exclaims as if it was obvious.

“I don’t know ? What am I supposed to do ?”

“You’ll have to give him back his coat eventually, you know...”

“I guess, yeah...”

“You _are_ going to start talking to him again, right ?” The tone of his voice is borderline scolding so Kyungsoo quickly nods. “Good. And you better apologize once more, for good measure. He deserved it.”

Again, all Kyungsoo can do is nod.

  
♪♫

  
When he’s tucked into his bed, later that night, Kyungsoo grabs his phone and open the text messages app. Baekhyun was right, earlier. He should apologize. Properly. Except he still doesn’t know _how_.

Maybe starting by giving back a clean coat would be a good idea.  
 

To : **Mom  
** 11:53pm-  
 _Hey mom ! Hope I’m not waking you up. I have a question only mothers can answer. How do you remove a blood stain from parka fabric ? I’m fine, don’t worry ! Just scratched my hands. But it left a pretty bad stain on a coat, and it’s not mine so...please help me with your mom-knowledge !_

  
He presses Send and switches to Kakaotalk, opening Jongin’s chatroom. Forcing his eyes not to read all the messages the boy had sent before – he knows this would only makes him feel guiltier, and he really doesn’t need that right now – he takes a deep breath, and after some quick mental calculations, he starts typing.

 

\--------------Friday, March 17th--------------  
11:56pm

**Kyungsoo**   
_hey_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I have something to tell you_

**Kyungsoo**   
_and it might be long, so..._

**NiniPoodle**   
_Hey hyung :DDDDDD !!!!_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Sure ! What is it :D ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Wait, should I be worried ?_

**Kyungsoo**   
_no ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Okay, go ahead then ^-^ !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m really sorry_

**NiniPoodle**   
_??_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’l sorry_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m*_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Uhm..._

**Kyungsoo**   
_je suis désolé_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Random French xD ?_

**Kyungsoo**   
_es tut mir leid_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Dutch ?_

**Kyungsoo**   
_mi dispiace_

**NiniPoodle**   
_...I wanna say Italian, maybe ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Is it a game :D ? I love games !_

**NiniPoodle**   
_How do you even know how to say it in those languages though ?_

**Kyungsoo**   
_(I have to take mandatory German & Italian classes.)_

**Kyungsoo**   
_(the French is because Baekhyun got an internship in France last year)_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Oh okay, back to English !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**NiniPoodle**   
_And I’m confused_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m really sorry_

**NiniPoodle**   
_...and I’m REALLY confused ?_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**Kyungsoo**   
_(shush I’m gonna leave my count)_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Hyung xD_

**NiniPoodle**   
_What’s going on ?_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**NiniPoodle**   
_........_

**Kyungsoo**   
_(I told you it was gonna be long)_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**Kyungsoo**   
_(btw I’m not copy-pasting, I’m typing each of them)_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Okay xD I appreciate but I’m still confused_

**Kyungsoo**   
_(I’m gonna send you an apology for each day I should’ve said sorry <\- this one doesn’t count)_

**Kyungsoo**   
_wait now I’ve lost my count_

**NiniPoodle**   
_21 ?_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry (thanks)_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m really sorry_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Hyung it’s fine :/_

**NiniPoodle**   
_You don’t have to do that_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**Kyungsoo**   
_(for now it’s the only way I found to apologize, so until I think of something else, just shut up and listen)_

**Kyungsoo**   
_(or read actually)_

**NiniPoodle**   
_....alright_

**Kyungsoo**   
_uh…_

**NiniPoodle**   
_25_

**Kyungsoo**   
_thanks >_<_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m reaaaaaaaaaaaally sorry_

  
When Kyungsoo finally types the sixty-second apology, Jongin doesn’t answer back right away. He hasn’t written anything since the forty-seventh ‘sorry’, and Kyungsoo is afraid the boy might have fallen asleep.

  
**Kyungsoo**   
_okay I’m done :/_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Can I ask something now ?_

**Kyungsoo**   
_uh…yeah ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Why exactly are you apologizing xD ?_

**Kyungsoo**   
_ugh_

**NiniPoodle**   
_??_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I forgot your birthday_

**Kyungsoo**   
_you wished me mine several times and even told your followers to do the same_

**Kyungsoo**   
_and I fucking forgot yours..._

**NiniPoodle**   
_...._

**NiniPoodle**   
_Omg wait a minute_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Is it the reason why you stopped writing back O.O ??????????_

**NiniPoodle**   
_No way... It’s not, is it ?????_

**Kyungsoo**   
_:/_

**NiniPoodle**   
_HYUNG !!!!!!!!!!!!_

**NiniPoodle**   
_I DIDN’T CARE OMG  °A°_

  
Kyungsoo blinks at his screen, re-reading Jongin’s last message again and again.

Wait what ?  
 

**NiniPoodle**   
_I’M FACEPALMING SO HARD RIGHT NOW_

**NiniPoodle**   
_I THOUGHT YOU WERE MAD AT ME_

**Kyungsoo**   
_WHY WOULD I BE MAD AT YOU ????_

**NiniPoodle**   
_I DON’T KNOW !!!!!!!!!_

**NiniPoodle**   
_THAT’S WHAT I ASKED YOU LIKE A THOUSAND TIMES_

**NiniPoodle**   
_BUT YOU DIDN’T ANSWER OR EVEN READ IT !!!!!_

**Kyungsoo**   
_yeah actually the apologies are also for that_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry I ignored you like that_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I didn’t really know how to apologize_

**Kyungsoo**   
_not that I’m doing a particularly good job right now but you know..._

**Kyungsoo**   
_and then you stopped writing and I thought you were really mad at me, for good, which I understood tbh_

**Kyungsoo**   
_but then I knew even less how to apologize..._

**NiniPoodle**   
_I can’t believe it…._

**NiniPoodle**   
_So you thought I was mad at you…. >o<_

**NiniPoodle**   
_I thought you were mad at me…. ToT_

**NiniPoodle**   
_When none of us were mad at the other.... °A°_

**Kyungsoo**   
_you’re really not mad at me ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Of course I’m not !!!!!_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Hyung I don’t care if you wish me my bday or not ! I didn’t wish you yours to have you do it back_

**NiniPoodle**   
_I was just sad because I saw you were reading my messages at first, but you didn’t reply and I didn’t understand why_

**NiniPoodle**   
_And then you stopped even reading them :(_

**NiniPoodle**   
_But it’s okay !_

**NiniPoodle**   
_DON’T APOLOGIZE AGAIN !  I KNOW YOU WERE ABOUT TO JUST NOW !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_busted_

  
Under his blanket, Kyungsoo chuckles. He really, _really_ was stupid.  
 

**Kyungsoo**   
_btw_

**Kyungsoo**   
_thank you_

**Kyungsoo**   
_for today I mean_

**Kyungsoo**   
_for helping me_

**NiniPoodle**   
_You’re welcome ^-^_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Are your hands okay though ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_That was a pretty nasty fall :/_

**Kyungsoo**   
_yeah_

**Kyungsoo**   
_it stings but it’s fine_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’ll survive !_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Good ^-^_

  
As he feels his eyes starting to burn, a quick look to the clock on his nightstand makes him realize he has been talking to Jongin for more than an hour already. He had forgotten how easy it was to converse with the dancer.

He’s exhausted, and Jongin must be tired too. But Kyungsoo doesn’t want the conversation to end yet. So after biting his lips and wondering if he should type what he really wants to say, he shrugs and sends his doubts to the wind. Jongin _deserved_ it.  
 

**Kyungsoo**   
_it was nice_

**Kyungsoo**   
_seeing you I mean_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I was surprised_

**Kyungsoo**   
_but it was nice_

**NiniPoodle**   
_It was ^-^_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m sorry I had to leave so quickly_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Hyung stop apologizing, it’s okay :)_

**NiniPoodle**   
_How is Baekhyun hyung btw ?_

**Kyungsoo**   
_not great, his girlfriend broke up with him_

**NiniPoodle**   
_:/ is he gonna be okay ?_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I hope_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I’m not used seeing him so down_

**Kyungsoo**   
_and I’m not good at comforting people_

**NiniPoodle**   
_That’s not true !!!!_

**Kyungsoo**   
_?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_You comforted me when I had to take Monggu to the vet before Christmas !_

**NiniPoodle**   
_You did a good job !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I literally told you he would go to dog-heaven if he died..._

**NiniPoodle**   
_Well..._

**Kyungsoo**   
_he just had a scratch on his paw......_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Okay that wasn’t exactly the best thing to say, but still !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_Jongin you freaked out so bad because of me !_

**NiniPoodle**   
_But you were there for me when I was worried, and you listened to me ramble about it !_

**NiniPoodle**   
_You didn’t just brush my concerns off :)_

**Kyungsoo**   
_no, I made you worry ten times more_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Hyuuuuuuuuung_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Stop it !_

**NiniPoodle**   
_You comfort people just fine_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Better than Sehun for example ! He sucks level 4000 !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_fuck is he still mad at me ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_??_

**Kyungsoo**   
_he kinda…subtly threatened me a while ago_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Oh FFS I told him to not talk to you about it_

**NiniPoodle**   
_He’s annoying !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_no but I get it_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I would’ve done the same_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Did you ever want to punch someone for Baekhyun hyung ?_

**Kyungsoo**   
_Sehun wanted to PUNCH ME ???_

**NiniPoodle**   
_YES !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_okay I really need to apologize to him asap !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_but that’s not what I meant_

**NiniPoodle**   
_??_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I meant I would’ve done the same_

**Kyungsoo**   
_as in_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I would’ve been mad at the asshole who made you sad_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Aww ^-^_

**Kyungsoo**   
_except it was me_

**Kyungsoo**   
_but I was mad at myself actually so..._

**NiniPoodle**   
_Ooookay I think we’ve had enough hating-on-Kyungsoo time for today xD !!_

**Kyungsoo**   
_yeah, let’s leave some for tomorrow too_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Nah ! No more hating on my favorite hyung !_

  
Once more, Kyungsoo is left staring at his phone screen in complete astonishment.

Where did that come from ?

  
**Kyungsoo**   
_favorite ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Yep_

**NiniPoodle**   
_You’ve recently been promoted !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_what the hell_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Hey you typed 62 I’m sorry’s_

**NiniPoodle**   
_You deserve the job_

**Kyungsoo**   
_who did I take it from ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_My sister’s husband_

**NiniPoodle**   
_He bought me a really nice jacket for my bday xD_

**Kyungsoo**   
_so you can be bribed…good to know_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Hehehe_

**NiniPoodle**   
_But be careful !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_The job is important !_

**NiniPoodle**   
_With great powers comes great responsibility !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_okay uncle Ben xD_

**Kyungsoo**   
_what kind of responsibility ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_For starters, no more ignoring !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_...okay_

**NiniPoodle**   
_And..._

**Kyungsoo**   
_?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Idk xD_

**NiniPoodle**   
_No more saying my dog will die, maybe ?_

**Kyungsoo**   
_oh god I’M SORRY OKAY ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_AH ! AND NO MORE APOLOGY !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_...yes sir_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Good._

**NiniPoodle**   
_Hyung_

**Kyungsoo**   
_Yeah ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Sehun is nagging at me cause he wants to sleep and the light on my screen is disturbing him_

**Kyungsoo**   
_oh_

**Kyungsoo**   
_it’s okay, I’ll let you sleep too then_

**Kyungsoo**   
_you must be tired anyway_

**NiniPoodle**   
_But I don’t want to stop talking to you :( !_

  
Kyungsoo’s heart tightens. Jongin might be worried he will go MIA once again.  
 

**NiniPoodle**   
_He’s annoying_

**Kyungsoo**   
_it’s okay, we’ll talk again tomorrow ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_You promise ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Don’t forget the number 1 rule of your new job !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_no more ignoring, got it._

**Kyungsoo**   
_I promise_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Then you text me as soon as you wake up !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_alright_

**NiniPoodle**   
_DON’T FORGET_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I won’t_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Hyung you know what ?_

**Kyungsoo**   
_what ?_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Ah, no nevermind ^-^_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Goodnight Hyung !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_no wait tell me !_

**NiniPoodle**   
_It’s nothing_

**NiniPoodle**   
_I’m just happy we’re talking again_

**NiniPoodle**   
_I missed it_

**Kyungsoo**   
_yeah me too_

**Kyungsoo**   
_you don’t want me to say it anymore but I’m still s*r*y_

**NiniPoodle**   
_^-^_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Sleep well Hyung !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_you too_

**NiniPoodle**   
_Bye :P !_

**Kyungsoo**   
_bye xD_

  
Kyungsoo is smiling when he exits the app. That ‘Bye’ had really stuck since the very first time they talked. That ‘hashtag awkward message ending team’ they joked about seems so far away, when it was in reality only back in September.

A lot had happened since then. And Kyungsoo really doesn’t regret sending that first message to Jongin, six month ago.

Just as he is about to turn off the lamp on his nightstand, his phone pings.

  
From : **Oh Sehun  
** 2:14am-  
 _Can’t believe you snitched on me about our little conversation. Jongin’s been scolding me for 10 minutes now.  
But thank you. For fixing stuff. It was getting annoying to see him pout 24/7.  
G’night hyung_.

  
♪♫

  
“Oh my god, I’m so stupid.”

Kyungsoo is on the phone with Baekhyun the following Sunday afternoon when it hits him.

“Okay, how about you tell me something I don’t know, so I can act properly surprised ?”

“Wow, easy on the snarkiness,” Kyungsoo says as he enters his music room and sits in front of his synthesizer.

“Go ahead, I’m listening.”

“I’m gonna need your help.”

“As always, when _don’t_ you ?”

“...really ?” Kyungsoo says in a stern voice after a short silence.

“Ugh, okay, I’m sorry.”

“So, I didn’t want to bother you lately with my videos, and I’ve been recording by myself, and-“

“Yeah, the last two kinda sucked.”

“Okay, could you quit snapping at me like that ?” Kyungsoo says, rolling his eyes.

“I’m s-“

“If you’re sorry then stop ! I didn’t do anything to you !”

“I know...”

“I’m aware you’re not in top shape right now, but acting like that won’t help.”

“Oh, and you think you can-” Baekhyun starts angrily, before cutting himself and Kyungsoo sighs.

“Look, I know I suck when it comes to comfort people. But maybe doing this with me will help you keep your mind focused on something else...”

“I don’t know, Soo...”

“What if I tell you it’s for Jongin ?” Kyungsoo tries.

There’s a silence, and then :

“When do you want me to come by ?” Baekhyun finally replies in a resigned sigh, and Kyungsoo can hear the tiny smile in his voice.

  
Three hours later, he steps away from the studio microphone, removing his headphones with a satisfied grin. He usually doesn’t do this kind of things, but it was worth it this time, he thinks, nodding to himself as he sits down in front of his computer and starts uploading the last file in his music production software.  
What better way to apologize than by doing what he was good at ?

  
♪♫

  
It’s already 5pm two days later when Kyungsoo finally enters the little café downtown. Baekhyun left his apartment thirty minutes ago and Kyungsoo was kind of proud he managed to make his best friend laugh a lot during the few hours they spent recording his next video. He still wasn’t back to his usual bubbly self, but he was slowly getting better. Time heals the broken hearts.

The doorbell chimes above his head as he pushes the door and his eyes instantly catch the person he came for. Hyunsik has stood up from his chair and waves at him with a wide smile, so Kyungsoo takes a deep breath and makes his way towards the booth his ex-boyfriend chose.

When the waiter taking their order leaves, Hyunsik is still grinning. They’ve only exchanged greetings so far, despite having already seen each other during their earliest class today.

“I’m happy you came,” Hyunsik eventually says before the awkward silence stretches for too long, “I was a bit scared you would ditch me.”

“I only agreed to meet you here ‘cause you promised you’d stop bothering me all the time if I did,” Kyungsoo answers letting his eyes roam around the cozy room.

Apparently, his ex remembered what kind of places they used to visit for coffee, years ago.

“No, I said that if you didn’t have fun, I’d stop asking you out,” Hyunsik chuckles. Kyungsoo sighs and clicks his tongue. They weren’t off a good start. “Give me _one_ good reason why I should stop !” the older continues with a side grin.

“I don’t know, how about because _I dumped you_ ? Isn’t that a good enough reason for you to get that I _don’t want_ to hang out with you ?”

“Are you seeing someone ? Is that why-”

“No, I’m not !” Kyungsoo interrupts him, “See ? Even if I’m single, I don’t want to be with you ! I don’t have time for a relationship right now, not that it’s any of your business. But even if I wanted to be with someone, I still wouldn’t consider you an option !”

“...That was brutal... You didn’t have to be mean…”

“Hyunsik...” he sighs once more, looking straight into the man’s eyes to be sure he makes his point, “You kissed me while I was completely drunk. And you _knew_ I didn’t want it. You’re aware this is considered as an assault, right ?”

“I...”

“Look. The only reason I didn’t do or say anything about it, is because... I _know_ you. I’ve known you for a while now. We dated for two years. I _know_ you’re not a bad person. You just do stupid things sometimes,” he adds, rolling his eyes, but a wry smile on his lips, “And I have no idea why you would want to get back with me after the way I broke up with you. So really, just that proves how much of an idiot you can be.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay, I got it,” the older jokingly grimaces just as the waiter comes back with their drinks.

“You and me, together, it won’t happen. We had fun in high school. At least for a little while before you started-”

“I said got it !” Hyunsik exclaims, nodding franticly with eyes comically open, earning a chuckle from Kyungsoo.

“Anyway. I never really apologized for dumping you the way I did, actually. So...I’m sorry. It wasn’t nice, I know that... I’m stupid too sometimes.”

“It’s fine... I’ve never really been mad at you for that... No matter how much it hurt.”

“I know.” A sad smile painted on his lips, Kyungsoo tilts his head, eyes still locked with the older’s, “This is also how I know you’re a good guy. You just….take bad decisions sometimes.”

“Changing your number was still a sneaky move...”

Hyunsik tones is playful now and Kyungsoo can’t help but snort.

“I wouldn’t have been force to if you didn’t send me so many texts !” he exclaims, still laughing, “Forty-seven messages in one afternoon is way too much, you stalker !”

Hyunsik makes a funny face but ends up agreeing anyway.

  
When they both exit the café a bit later, Hyunsik holds the door for Kyungsoo, gesturing for him to go first with a gentlemanly bow of his head. Kyungsoo snorts again, shaking his head as he steps outside.

“Don’t laugh, I’m trying to do things right !” Hyunsik says, contradicting his own words when he chuckles. He pauses, looking suddenly sheepish, “Kyungsoo... Do you think we could...still be friends ? Like before we dated ?”

“I don’t know,” Kyungsoo sighs, “We weren’t even really friends before getting together. I just asked you out after we both participated in the school talent contest...” he chortles before looking back at Hyunsik, “But things have changed. _We_ changed. I mean…we’re not fifteen anymore.”

“True. You were cuter, back then.”

“Hey !”

“Now you’re hotter, though,” the older says with a smile both teasing and seductive.

“Okay, back to the topic !” Kyungsoo guffaws.

His ex had been so insufferable since they broke up, Kyungsoo has forgotten how much Hyunsik used to make him laugh. All their friends back then were always saying they had an amazing complicity.

“Sorry. I just... It’s been a long time since I was the one making you smile... I missed it.”

“Listen,” Kyungsoo sighs yet again, “I don’t know about being friends. _But_ if you promise to stop being so…persistent and to give me some space, then maybe we could…I don’t know, talk like normal people ?” he suggests, shrugging, “Like classmates.”

“Like, without you wanting to strangle me ?”

“Oh, so you _did_ notice !” Kyungsoo smirks.

“Yeah, I just chose to ignore it.”

A new fond smile grazes Hyunsik lips the second after Kyungsoo chuckles again.

“So, what do you think ?”

“Yeah...that’d be nice,” Hyunsik timidly nods.

  
♪♫

  
**melod.ous**   
_Hey guys ! How’s everyone doing ? I’m about to upload this week’s video, so I hope you’re ready for this ! But first, some numbers ! We reached 400k subscribers on my YT channel ! HOW INSANE IS THIS ? And you’re now more than 100k here on Instagram ! #mindblown  
I have no word to tell you how grateful I am for your endless support and all the love you give me every day. But someone suggested I should find a fandom name for all of you, to celebrate ! What do you think ? Comment and suggest some, okay ? I’ll pick my favorites and run a poll on twitter soon !  
You guys are the BEST ! I LOVE YOU ALL !!!! #grouphug_

  
Once he is sure the Valencia filter he set on his selfie correctly blurs the recalcitrant pimple on his chin, and after checking his caption doesn’t have any typo, Kyungsoo presses the share icon.

Within the next minute, notifications of likes and comments start piling up.  
 

**at1stsight** _Aaaaa congratulations!!!! /aggressively claps/ How about the Squishies for our fandom name? ^^ /joins the group hug/_

**floralnori**   _I’m so happy for you! You totally deserve it! And I’d suggest the D.Onuts, so we go well with the sweet softie you are!_

**kimjongina**   _can’t wait for the video!! and congrats!!! I found your youtube channel thanks to kai and I’m really happy I did!_

**life_not_knife**   _I’m SO EXCITED for the video! Also, can we be THE PENGUINS?????_

**theiap**   _The DOlls!!!!! You can play with us then XDD And congratulations!!_

**bunnybyunbaek** _Y’all should be named the DilDOs *proud*_

  
Kyungsoo lets out a loud laugh when he reads his best friend’s comment. Of course, his suggestion would be inappropriate. It wouldn’t be Baekhyun otherwise, but Kyungsoo was really glad the older was slowly starting to joke more often.

As usual, he takes a few minutes to like and answer to some comments, before putting his phone away and focusing on his computer.

The video has finished rendering in his editing software, so he plays it one last time to check sound and image are properly synchronized.

As soon as his face appears on the screen for the intro talk, there is no doubt Baekhyun was truly blessed when it came to find the right angles to film him.

“Hey guys, D.O here !” on-screen Kyungsoo cheerfully says, waving his fingers next to his face in his habitual peace sign, “Today’s cover is gonna be a little special. I know it was supposed to be indie rock week, but don’t worry, I’ll do that next Thursday. Today, there is no theme. Or not a music related one at least.” Digital Kyungsoo takes a deep breath, eyebrows furrowing, “See, a little while ago, I kinda...messed up. And I hurt someone who _really_ didn’t deserve it. Maybe some of you can relate. I hope not, though, ‘cause I wouldn’t want any of you feeling as bad as I do. Or as bad as the person I did this to. But I just...really didn’t know how to fix it. And I let things get worse and worse and I…” The video shows him sigh and lick his lips, before he continues, “You guys know I usually don’t dedicate songs to people. But today, I’d like to do it anyway. So...this song is for you, hopefully you will watch this and recognize yourself. You told me once it was your favorite, so I’ll try not to mess up the French parts too much. I’ve already screwed up enough as it is, right ?” He pauses once more, then, “I know I was an asshole… And I’m really, _really_ sorry for hurting you. So…yeah…I hope you’ll like it… Man, I’m so bad at this,” his on-screen self awkwardly chuckles and real Kyungsoo cringes, “Okay, let’s go.”

The screen fades to black before his body appears, sat at his synthesizer and studio mic set in front of him. There is a silence, then his voice echoes in layers, harmonizing on the first notes of The Weeknd’s famous song _Montreal_.

He hadn’t mentioned Jongin’s name, but surely the boy would know that video was for him.

_I’m sure he will_ , he thinks as he presses on the uploading button.

  
♪♫

  
Kyungsoo is on his way for his _Music and visual image_ class when a familiar voice calls him.

“Hyung, wait !” Cladded in sweatpants, Sehun jogs towards him with a smile on his face. Kyungsoo greets him, grinning back before asking him how he is, “I was about to text you !” the dancer answers cheerfully.

“You were ?”

“Yeah, I wanted to ask you something !”

“Okay ?”

“So... Jongin’s coming back tonight, to spend the weekend here,” Sehun starts, adjusting his coat around him, “We might go out to have a drink.”

“That’s nice !” Kyungsoo replies, not sure why the younger is sharing that information.

“Yeah, and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to join us ?”

Oh. _That_ ’s why.

Kyungsoo purses his lips, carefully trying to choose his next words. He had already blown off Sehun’s invitation too many times.

“Uhm... Sorry, I- I can’t...”

The dancer’s expression closes itself, looking clearly irritated.

“Yeah, okay,” he bitterly scoffs, and Kyungsoo’s mind reels.

“But you two can come to my place !” he suddenly exclaims, “We usually have kinda guys night on Fridays. Well, we didn’t do it for a while since Baekhyun wasn’t exactly in the mood, but he seems up to it now so… It’s nothing fancy, just fried chicken, beers and music, you know. But you’re welcome to come if you want !”

The next second, Sehun is beaming again.

“Oh, okay ! Yeah, we’ll come !”

“Don’t you wanna ask Jongin first ?”

“Oh trust me, he’ll say yes,” Sehun chuckles with a knowing look.

“Right…he likes chicken a lot.”

“...Yeah, he really likes _chicken_...”

Kyungsoo blinks at the dancer, not sure why he emphasized his last word.

Wait. Does Sehun know ? That Jongin seemed to like him a bit more than what best friend usually do ? Did he mean Jongin would say yes to whatever he’d want to do as long as he was with Sehun ?

That would make sense. But knowing he doesn’t have a lot of time before he’ll end up being late to class, he brushes off his reflections and simply nods.

“Cool, I’ll text you my address later, then.”

As soon as they part, he grabs his phone and quickly types in his friends’ Kakaotalk group chat.

  
\--------------Friday, March 24th--------------  
07:49am   
**Kyungsoo**   
_we’ll have two extra ppl tonight_

**Kyungsoo**   
_SO PLS BEHAVE_

**Loey**   
_WHO? WHO? WHO?_

**DINODAE**   
_Who let the doooooooooogs out? WHO WHO WHO WHO_

**Jun Myeon**   
_??_

**BunnyBacon**   
_IS IT WHO I THINK IT IS ?????_

**Jun Myeon**   
_???_

**BunnyBacon**   
_OMG ARE WE GONNA EAT CHICKEN WITH A CHICKEN IN THE ROOM ?????????????_

**Kyungsoo**   
_Sehun will be here too_

**DinoDae**   
_who dat?_

**Loey**   
_tall lanky dancer dude?_

**Kyungsoo**   
_seriously, please behave okay ?_

**BunnyBacon**   
_SAY THAT TO THE POULTRY_

**BunnyBacon**   
_IMMA KEEP MY EYES ON THIS BFF THIEF_

**Jun Myeon**   
_??????_

**Loey**   
_grandpa’s confused XD_

**Kyungsoo**   
_I need new friends._

**BunnyBacon**   
_STAY AWAY FROM THE CHICKEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

**Jun Myeon**   
_I’ll calculate how much the extra food and drinks will cost, then._

**Loey**   
_i’m glad it’s your turn to pay XD_

**Kyungsoo**   
_actually YOU are supposed to take care of the drinks Chanyeol…_

**BunnyBacon**   
_WHO CARES ? THE CHICKEN WILL BE HERE ! I NEED TO DEFEND MY FRIENDSHIP !_

**BunnyBacon**   
_THIS IS SPARTA !_

**DinoDae**   
_grandpa’s not the only confused one here… wtf is going on_

  
Shaking his head with a little laugh, Kyungsoo locks and pockets his phone right before entering the classroom. Settled in the front row, Hyunsik is smiling at him. They haven’t seen each other since their coffee talk, but for the first time in a while, Kyungsoo isn’t dreading the two hours he’ll have to spend sitting next to the older.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-da~ !  
> I know what you’re all thinking : FUCKING FINALLY ! Right xD ? They met IRL, yes ! We’re entering a new phase now :P !


	14. Chapter 14

“It’s not logic !”

“Of course, it is !”

“No, it’s not !”

“Is !”

“Not !”

“What’s going on ?” Kyungsoo asks as Baekhyun and Chanyeol keep bickering.

He just opened the door to greet them and Junmyeon, but before he was able to open his mouth, those two had entered his apartment, clearly mid-argument, and strolled inside without even acknowledging him.

“Please, help,” Junmyeon sighs, taking off his sneakers and neatly placing them next to the door, “They’ve been at it during the whole drive here,” he adds as they make their way to the living room.

“What is it about ?” Kyungsoo asks Junmyeon, but before the older can answer, Chanyeol is groaning.

“Baekhyun is being irrational !”

“ _I’m_ being irrational ? Soo, tell him !”

“I’m sorry, what are we talking about exactly ?”

“Vampires can totally go out during the night !” Chanyeol claims, and Kyungsoo blinks at him.

What the fuck ?

“No, they can’t ! It’s stupid !” Baekhyun retaliates, “They can’t handle the _sunlight_ ! And the moon is fucking _reflecting. The. Sun. Light._ ”

“Oh okay, I'm sorry !” Chanyeol scoffs, “I wasn't aware I was talking to a specialist !”

“Well, Baekhyun has a point, though...” Kyungsoo offers, grabbing the food from a desperate-looking Junmyeon.

“Ha ! In your face !”

“Of course, you’d take Baek’s side,” the tallest grumbles, “Junmyeon, please, care to help me ?”

“I’m not getting involved. You guys killed my brain cells in the car.”

“See ? Admit your defeat !” Baekhyun taunts their friend.

“Fuck off ! They can, period.”

“No, they can’t !”

“Can !”

“Cannot !”

“I’ll text Sehun and tell him to swing by the grocery store,” Kyungsoo says only for Junmyeon to hear, “We’re gonna need more alcohol.”

“Can he buy me earplugs too ? I’ll give him the money back,” Junmyeon asks, looking so done with life.

“I’ll ask,” Kyungsoo chuckles, grabbing his phone.

The intercom rings, and as Kyungsoo opens the building door to a cheerful Jongdae, trying to type a text to Sehun as quickly as he can, he can still hear Baekhyun and Chanyeol quarreling.

This is gonna be a long night. And clearly, the behaving he asked for wasn’t on the menu.

 

Less than a half hour later, Kyungsoo is opening his door for the third time of the night, rolling his eyes at the screams coming from the living room.

Sehun and Jongin are standing behind, caught mid-bow as they greet one of Kyungsoo’s neighbor strolling in the long hallway.

“Hey Hyung !” Sehun finally says as he straightens up, “I brought soju, is it okay ?”

“Yeah, perfect ! Come in !” he answers, turning his eyes to Jongin and grinning back when the boy smiles at him.

“Woah !” Jongin suddenly exclaims, eyes widening, “Your apartment is really nice !”

“Yeah, how do you even pay for it ?” Sehun asks as he stares everywhere around him.

“Youtube Money !” Baekhyun shouts from the living room before Kyungsoo has the time to say anything, “Soo is hella rich !”

Kyungsoo snorts, shaking his head and motioning at the two dancers where they can place their sneakers after taking them off.

“I’m not,” he says, “It belongs to my parents. They bough it when my brothers came to Seoul for college. And since they knew I’d probably come here too, it was kind of an investment. They’ll rent it when I leave.”

“Smart move,” Sehun says, sounding impressed.

“My dad is a real estate, I guess it comes with the job,” Kyungsoo snickers, “They don’t want me to pay a rent, but…yeah, let’s say youtube money has been paying the bills for a little while, now.”

“That’s awesome !”

“I should start making videos,” Sehun deadpans.

“About what ? How to live with a lisp ?”

“You have one too, asshole !” the taller throws at Jongin, pretending to be outraged by the vicious attack.

“Go faster you bastard !” Baekhyun screams once more for the living room, and Kyungsoo watches Jongin’s and Sehun’s faceS turn confused.

“Jongdae brought his old Nintendo,” he provides, “So there’s a Mario Kart 64 tournament going on, right now.”

“Neat !” Sehun says excitedly before rushing towards where Baekhyun’s voice came from.

Kyungsoo stands in front of Jongin, feeling a bit awkward. It’s still weird to realize they’re actually in front of each other, and not just talking through screens anymore.

“Are you good at Mario Kart ?” the dancer eventually asks, taking off his jacket and looking around, until Kyungsoo takes it from his hands and hangs it on the coat rack.

“Better than at League of Legends, according to Baekhyun,” he snorts, earning a chuckle from Jongin, “So…you want an apartment tour ?”

“Are you gonna show me how you store your makeup too ?” Jongin teases, reminding Kyungsoo of a conversation they had one evening, about beauty gurus on Youtube.

“Yeah, I have a very impressive collection of lipsticks,” the older laughs, “Come on.”

“Hey, Hyung ?” Jongin says as Kyungsoo turns on his heels.

“Mmh ?”

“Thanks for inviting us…”

“No problem… Besides, I think Sehun would’ve really punched me if I had ditched him one more time.”

“Probably, yes,” Jongin nods with a side smile, and Kyungsoo forces himself to not stare at that cute grin and move along.

He proceeds to show Jongin the most important spots first, starting with the kitchen, adding a “Make yourself comfortable and feel free to grab stuff in the fridge”, following with the restroom.

“If you need relief from all the beers or just want to hide from the Crazy’s,” he says, just after hearing Chanyeol shout a loud ‘ _Who fucking put that banana here ?_ ’.

The dancer insists on seeing the music room, claiming he wants to “see where the magic happens” and forcing Kyungsoo to hide his heated cheeks when more praises comes out, le older turning his face away as he pretend to hit random notes on his turned-off synthesizer.

When they finally come back to the living room, Sehun is holding a controller and playing against a screeching Baekhyun who dramatically leans his body on the sides every time his Toad takes a turn.

“What the fuck ?” Sehun yells when the pause screen suddenly appears and Kyungsoo instantly looks at Baekhyun who is staring at Jongin with squinted eyes, “I was gonna win !”

The Film Making major places his controller on the ground and gets up from the bean bag he claimed for the night, gaze still fixed on an uncomfortable looking Jongin.

“So, this is the famous Kim Kai, uh ?” he says, and Kyungsoo rolls his eyes.

“Uhm… Hi,” the younger answers, “I’m Kim Jongin,” he adds, bowing to greet Baekhyun who still pretends to scrutinize the dancer intently.

“Baek,” Kyungsoo warns his best friend, “Be nice.”

“I didn’t say anything ! Yet…”

Kyungsoo doesn’t reply and simply nudges his head towards the couch as he looks at Jongin, gesturing at him to sit wherever he likes, before he goes back to the kitchen to grab some glasses and napkins.

“Jongin ?!” he hears Jongdae call from behind him.

“Hi Sunbae !” the dancer says happily, and it reminds Kyungsoo the two used to go to the same school until very recently.

“How is Yixing ?” Jongdae asks Jongin just when Kyungsoo comes back in the living room, “You’re in the same department, right ? He’s not answering my texts, as usual.”

“He’s good ! He moved in with his girlfriend last month,” Jongin replies from his spot on the left side of the couch, “They took an apartment in town, it was easier than the dorms, since she goes to another school.”

“Good ! I’m gonna take your number and I’ll text you to have news of him,” Jongdae snorts, “You’ll be my man from the inside !”

“Slow down,” Baekhyun says, “Let’s not plan to go too deep inside things, yet, okay ?”

Somehow, nobody but Kyungsoo seems to get the joke, seeing the confused faces looking at Baekhyun.

“Let’s just eat,” the Composition major suggests, rolling his eyes.

Chanyeol has already muted the television and put a Rolling Stones vinyl record in the turntable when they start digging in the fried chicken boxes, sound of chewing and beer bottles getting opened filling the room for a little while.

It’s a bit weird not to have Henry cracking dumb jokes, or Minseok telling them not to eat so loudly, but it does feel nice to finally have Jongdae around. Kyungsoo doesn’t really know what to say, and the silence stretches, until Chanyeol unexpectedly sneezes, and a big piece of chewed chicken flies out of his mouth and lands on the table in a disgusting wet sound. They all stare at the projectile for a few seconds, before the room erupts in hysterical laughter and the awkwardness evaporates with it.

 

Two hours later, and Kyungsoo still has to wipe his smile away. Sehun and Jongin are blending so naturally in his group of friends that he can’t discard the feeling of contentment invading him.

Just like he had anticipated, Sehun and Baekhyun are lethal, once put together. He isn’t sure it’s a good thing, but Baekhyun is smiling and laughing like he doesn’t have a care in the world, and after looking under the weather for so long, it’s a change nice enough for Kyungsoo to bear with the teasing and weird jokes, even if it’s his own dancing skills they’re making fun of.

Something he discovers too, thanks to having Jongin in the flesh in front of him, and no longer on his laptop screen, is that the dancer tends to _hit_ people in his vicinity when he laughs. The harder the hilarity is, the stronger the slaps become. And Sehun’s shoulder, arm, chest and thighs have probably been victims of such assaults many times, seeing how the boy doesn’t seem to mind and just keeps on chatting and laughing.

Jongin is, for the lack of a better word, _fluffy_. And Kyungsoo never thought he would ever use that word to describe a human that is not a baby wearing a unicorn onesie.  
It doesn’t even have anything to do with the pastel pink hair flopping on his head, or the teddy bear pattern on his wool sweater.  
He did catch glimpses of this when he watched some of the boy’s vlogs or when they spoke on the phone, but he is so used to see him dance with a powerful energy, sharp moves and seductive attitude in his videos, that witnessing how Jongin acts, away from the camera and when surrounded by friends is quite unsettling. In a good way.

Jongin is just so. Fucking. Cute.

He throws his head back when he laughs, mouth wide open, the sound echoing loudly in the room, uncaring of the fried chicken crumbs resting on the corner of his lips. He sucks the grease off his fingers while enthusiastically nodding at something Chanyeol said. He hits his front teeth with the bottleneck, points at the person he speaks with, scrunches his nose when is confused, wipes the drop of beer dripping on his chin with the back of his hand, talks with his mouth full, smiles and laugh some more.

And Kyungsoo can’t help but stare like an idiot, even if he feels Baekhyun’s insistent eyes on him every now and then. He already knows he’ll get an earful later, anyway.  
And he is just so happy everyone is getting along so well, he’ll gladly let his best friend annoy him.

What he didn’t expect, though, was for the conversations to turn _that_ personal.

“Have you ever tasted yourself ?” Chanyeol asks Jongin when they’re done eating and are opening the first bottle of Soju.

“Tasted myself ?” the dancer asks, raising an eyebrow, “Like what ? Chewing on my fingers or…”

“No, I mean tasted your dick.”

Kyungsoo almost chokes on his drink.

“Oh. Uhm...”

“Chanyeol, what the fuck ?!” the Composition major exclaims.

“Shush,” Baekhyun cuts him, before looking at Jongin with interest, “Have you ?”

“Well…not directly ?”

“What does _that_ mean ?” Chanyeol inquires, adjusting himself on his bean bag and leaning against the table to look at Jongin who is seated on the floor across Sehun.

“I mean, I’m a dancer but I’m not _that_ flexible…”

“So ?” Baekhyun presses, clearly intrigued, and Kyungsoo wants to facepalm.

There is no saving Jongin, here.

“Through a kiss after a blowjob, does that count ?” the dancer offers, tilting his head, and Kyungsoo shouldn’t find the action so _cute_ , considering what he is talking about.

“Absolutely !” Jongdae nods.

“So, what did you taste like ?” Chanyeol continues, and Kyungsoo does facepalm, this time.

Why does his friends have to be so weird and embarrassing ? Even _Junmyeon_ looks like he is interested in what Jongin has to say !

Jongin briefly glances at Kyungsoo, before looking back at his friends.

“I don’t know ? Like a dick ?” he replies, and from the corner of his eyes, Kyungsoo can see this is exactly the kind of answer Baekhyun was waiting for. Aiming for, even.

Not good.

“Oh, so, you’ve tasted dicks before ?” his best friend asks in a mischievous tone.

Not good at all.

“What ?” Jongin says, visibly confused.

“I think they’re trying to find out your sexual orientation,” Sehun nonchalantly provides as he gulps down his drink.

“Oh…”

“Smart boy. I like you,” Baekhyun says to Sehun before looking back at Jongin, “So ?” he insists once more.

“Well I don’t really...have one ?”

“Meaning ?” Chanyeol presses, and Kyungsoo helplessly watches Jongin’s expression turnS to a pensive one.

“I guess I date people I’m...emotionally connected with ? Regardless what gender they identify as…”

“So, you’re bicurious ?” Junmyeon asks, munching on a Pringles.

“Not exactly ? The last person I dated wasn’t categorizing themself in any gender. Didn’t feel the need to. And it was fine by me,” Jongin shrugs, and grabbing his glass.

“And you slept with them ?” Junmyeon asks, looking like he’s trying to figure out some anatomy logistics in whatever mental image his mind has created.

“Yeah.”

“So, what _are_ you ?” Chanyeol tries again.

“Let’s just say I’m open minded !”

“So, you would date a guy ?” Baekhyun inquires, tone easygoing despite having his eyes riveted on Jongin.

There it is. It seems pretty clear Baekhyun and Chanyeol have planned all this, even maybe rehearsed it, to get that information out of Jongin.

And even if Kyungsoo should feel at least a bit bad for the dancer, knowing he was somewhat manipulated, he can’t really help but wait for the answer.

“Yeah, sure,” Jongin nods with yet another shrug, his eyes quickly looking towards Sehun and giving Kyungsoo the confirmation the younger might have a thing for his best friend.

“Good,” Baekhyun states, and for a second, Kyungsoo thinks that, now he got the answer he wanted, the topic was going to change.

But then, Jongin is turning his eyes towards _him_.

“What about you ?”

“Me ?”

“Yeah ! What about _your_ sexual orientation ?”

Right. He had conveniently avoided giving away any sort of clue about that, before. However, homosexuality IS obviously not a problem for Jongin, and Sehun already knows, so there’s no real need to hide it anymore.  
He could still mess with the boy a little, though.

“My orientation… Well, horizontal, mostly,” he casually offers, “Vertical can do too, although it can be quite challenging.”

“What ?”

“Diagonal sometimes, I guess,” he adds, chuckling inside when he sees the pure confusion on Jongin’s face, “Like in a car, you know. The reclining seats won’t flatten all the way, so...”

“I… What ?”

“He’s gay,” Baekhyun decides to clarify with a snicker, knowing exactly what Kyungsoo is doing.

“Very gay,” Chanyeol supplements.

“Super gay,” Junmyeon ends and Kyungsoo finally laughs, earning a cute, yet somewhat shy smile from Jongin.

“Okay.”

At least, now he knows he can trust Sehun. They boy hadn’t let anything from their dance routine slip past his lips, even to his own best friend.

  
But after that, it’s as if a door to nonsense had been open and, as Soju and beers keep being downed, Kyungsoo’s inebriated brain gets pulled in random conversations he happily joins every time.

“Oh my god, Soo ! It's like that time when you ordered a new battery for your laptop on amazon !” Baekhyun shouts at some point, cutting Kyungsoo who was watching a sober Junmyeon playing against the Nintendo, and dramatically losing, despite screaming at Peach to “drive safely but please go faster” in an imploring tone.

“What ?” Kyungsoo asks, looking down toward his best friend, not sure why he was bringing that up or even when he relocated his bean bag next to Kyungsoo’s spot on the couch.

“Remember ? They messed up yours’ and someone else's mail addresses !” Baekhyun recalls, leaning to the side to props and cross his arms on Kyungsoo’s lap while looking at the others, “He ended up receiving a DIY candle kit and jars of multicolored glitters !”

 

"It's called holographic !" Chanyeol offers grabbing the edge of the table to remain sitting somewhat upright.

 

And what they say about how alcohol can set tongues wagging is definitely true tonight, cause amidst the general hilarity, Kyungsoo has no problem adding :

 

“Thank god I didn't order a dildo ! Or the other person would've been hella confused !”

“Did you send the person their order back ?” Jongin asks when he manages to calm his laughter enough to speak properly.

“No, Chanyeol took the candle thing and gave it to his sister. And the glitters ended up all over my bed after another drunk night with those guys,” he snorts, pointing his thumb towards his friends before laughing some more when Jongin’s face turns to utter surprise.

“Uhm… What did you do exactly that night ?” the younger asks, and Sehun suddenly chokes on his beer, some of the bubbly liquid coming up and off of his nose, probably picturing something wild in his intoxicated mind.

“Well, as much as I appreciate your optimism regarding my sex life, it’s not what you’re imagining,” Kyungsoo says, shaking his head and grabbing a salted peanut, “They just poured all the jars everywhere on my sheets ‘cause they thought it was funny. And I was too drunk to notice until the next morning.”

“I swear he had glitters stuck on him for a whole month after that !” Baekhyun hiccups between fits of laughter.

“I still find some every now and then !”

Kyungsoo isn’t sure the warmth in his stomach is due to the shot of Soju he just gulped down, or from the way Jongin is looking at him, lips stretched is the brightest smile he has ever seen and eyes watery from too much laughing.

He’s not only cute.

Jongin is fucking beautiful, too.

And Kyungsoo is fucking fucked. And fucking drunk.

  
♪♫

  
“You’re all going back on campus, right ?” Junmyeon asks hours later, when the Mario Kart tournament ends with Baekhyun’s big win, “I drove here, I can take some of you back.”

“I’m staying !” Baekhyun claims, halting his staggering half through his third victory tour around the living room, arms still raised above his head.

“There’s still one too many people to fit in the car,” Jongdae states, exceptionally rational despite how drunk he is.

“Jongin can sit on my lap !” Sehun mumbles with a shrug and Kyungsoo quickly eyes the both of them, only to see neither seem to mind.

“Okay,” Junmyeon sighs, “Let’s hope the cops won’t be on the lookout for illegal car sitting arrangements,” he worries, earning a snort from Chanyeol.

“If they arrest us, it’ll be cause you dive too slow, Hyung !”

“You wanna walk your way back ?”

“…Slow is good !”

“That’s what she said !” Baekhyun hollers, hands back in the hair before throwing light punch on Chanyeol’s shoulder – and missing his target.

“Alright, let’s go then,” Junmyeon finally nods.

They’re all gathering in the entry way when Kyungsoo’s brain clicks and his hand reaches out on reflex to squeeze Jongin’s arm.

“Wait !”

A second later, he is walking toward his bedroom and grabbing the dancer’s coat from the hanger behind the door. After checking one last time no blood stain was left on the sleeve, he pulls the door open again and violently startles, surprised to see Jongin right in front of him although he didn’t hear him follow.

He tries to cover his flinch by clearing his throat and steps back, but Jongin chuckles, when he sees Kyungsoo teetering and losing his balance for a second.

“Here,” Kyungsoo eventually says, giving the coat back without really crossing Jongin’s eyes.

They had no problem looking at each other during the whole evening, and Kyungsoo probably stole more glances at Jongin than what would be considered normal. But now that they’re alone, it feels strange, _awkward_.

“Thanks…” the dancer nods.

Kyungsoo half expects him to turn around and join the others back at the front door, but Jongin stays where he is, biting the inside of his cheek and shifting from one foot to the other, looking like he wants to say something else. He is blinking weirdly, as if trying to bring his intoxicated brain to focus.

“You okay ?” Kyungsoo offers, trying to help him and also wanting the awkward tension to dissipate.

“Yeah, I…uhm… I wanted to thank you,” Jongin starts, alcohol slurring his speech and fingers playing with the fur on the coat’s hood, “For the video, I mean.”

“Oh…”

Somehow, Kyungsoo had forgotten about that. And now it feels even more awkward to have Jongin in front of him. Why can’t Baekhyun come and save him when he really needs it ?

“It’s… I’m not sure what to say,” Jongin continues, visibly uncomfortable too, “I wasn’t expecting something like that. You already apologized many times…”

“It didn’t feel enough, I guess… I’m _really_ sorry,” Kyungsoo insists, knowing exactly what kind of reaction he’s gonna get and trying to prevent his smile from curving his lips.

It’s not even that funny. But Jongin is here in front of him, and just that makes him feel like grinning.

“Hyung…” Jongin whines dramatically and Kyungsoo finally laughs, happy he managed to break the weird stiffness around them.

“I know, I know, no more apology.”

“You promised !” the younger exaggeratedly sighs, but looks relieved nonetheless.

“Did you like it, though ?” Kyungsoo asks after a pause, his elbow nudging Jongin’s own, “The video…”

And this time, he doesn’t try to hide the smile painting his lips when Jongin shyly nods, eyes looking down right before Baekhyun’s voice echoes from the living room.

“Soo ! Get your plumpy ass over here !”

  
When they all left and Baekhyun is already nestled under the cover on Kyungsoo’s bed, the Composition major doesn’t even try arguing over him claiming one side of the mattress and simply slips under the blanket too.

“Did you have fun ?” he still asks, trying to sound casual as he turns the bedside lamp off, making sure his phone’s alarm is off and won’t wake them up the next morning – or really, in a couple hours.

“Yeah, it was fun,” his best friend replies, shifting in the bed, “We didn’t do that in a long time. Because of me, I guess…”

“It wasn’t because of you. We were all busy,” Kyungsoo reassures him, patting next to him in the dark to locate Baekhyun’s arm and giving it a light squeeze once he finds it.

“Mmh….”

“Are you okay, though ?”

“I guess,” Baekhyun breathes out after releasing a tired sigh.

“…Do you wanna talk about it ?”

“Not really… I mean, there’s not much to say. She left. And I’m just… She’s there. And I’m here.”

“Yeah…”

Baekhyun is right. There isn’t much to talk about. A broken heart doesn’t mend itself overnight.  
So they just lie on their backs, listening to the night traffic faintly coming from outside.

“You know what’s funny ?” Baekhyun rhetorically asks a few minutes after Kyungsoo received a text message from Junmyeon telling them they all arrived safely.

“What ?”

“Some days, when I wake up, there’s this moment when I start reaching for my phone, to send her a good morning text. Like I always did. But then…” his best friend pauses and Kyungsoo can almost hear the knot in his throat blocking his words, “Then I remember.”

Kyungsoo still has no idea what to say, so he brushes his thumb against Baekhyun’s wrist and listens his best friend’s breaths turn deeper as he falls asleep.  
He still noticeably flinches when his phone vibrates on the bedside table, rushing to grab it before the noise wakes Baekhyun up.

  
From : **Kim Jongin**  
04:43am-  
_Hey hyung, Sehun and I are back in his dorm room ! Thank you again for inviting us tonight ^-^ ! It was really cool ! I hope we’ll do that again soon ! Bye~ !_

To : **Kim Jongin**  
04:44am-  
_no problem ! and yeah, let’s do that again ! bye Jongin :) have a good night sleep_

From : **Kim Jongin**  
04:44am-  
_You too~ !!!!_

 

“Is it the chicken ?”

Shit.

“How did you know ?”

“I can see you smiling to your phone like an idiot,” Baekhyun sleepily says, but his tone is almost too affectionate compared to his words.

“They made it back to Sehun’s dorm room, he just wanted to wish us a good night.”

“Yeah sure, ‘us’… You’re such a bas liar,” Baekhyun snorts, shifting yet again and turning his back to Kyungsoo.

“I think he likes Sehun,” Kyungsoo says, not sure _why_ he decided to share this.

“Who ? The chicken ?”

“Mmh.”

“Why am I even friend with someone as stupid as you…”

“What ?”

“Just go to sleep.”

In the dark, Kyungsoo frowns, eyes turned towards the back of Baekhyun’s head. Puffs of blond hair are peeking out of the fluffy white comforter, half buried in the thick pillow and only vaguely illuminated by his still lit phone.

“This is what I get for letting you sleep in my bed ?” he grumbles, just for the sake of having the last word as he replaces the device on the nightstand.

But then, right as he is drifting into slumber minutes later, Baekhyun’s voice pops up again in the silence.

“Soo ?”

“Mmh ?”

“Thanks.”

“Mmh, no problem.”

And even half asleep, he knows his best friend isn’t only thanking him for tonight.

  
♪♫

  
“I don’t think that harmony is right.”

“Yes, it is,” Kyungsoo calmly states, looking away from his guitar and up at Hyunsik with a raised eyebrow.

“It sounds weird…”

“Well, it’s still the right one. I went for the minor third, this time.”

“Maybe that’s why…”

“You didn’t like it either when I tried the major third and the fifth. Make up your mind. We should be done with the basic arrangements by now !” Kyungsoo sighs, closing his eyes and rubbing at his forehead with his wrist, guitar plectrum still between his thumb and middle fingers.

“Can you do the minor again ?” Hyunsik asks, right before the short bell signals the end of the class.

_Fucking finally._

This is the first thing entering Kyungsoo’s mind as the sound echoes in the classroom for one second longer.

He usually doesn’t mind helping his classmates, but having to do this project paired with Hyunsik is proving to be such a bad idea. Not that he ever thought it was a _good_ one, but he wasn’t so much against it after they talked things through.

Except, time had obviously helped him forget. And he only remembers now, how Hyunsik always tended to be a pain in the ass, for absolutely everything, finding things to pinpoint, criticize, argue about, so fucking often, even when what he claimed was complete bullshit.

And high-school-Kyungsoo might have let himself be annoyed quite a lot, but he is having none of it now. Even less if it’s about _music_ ! As far as he knows, Hyunsik’s previous school doesn’t have a Composition cursus, only a general Music one. Whereas Kyungsoo has been studying how to fucking arrange and harmonize instruments  sometimes even full orchestras - and voices for three years already, even applying all this to find new orchestration for his covers every _week_. To hell if he’s gonna let Hyunsik tell him he doesn’t know what he’s doing ! Not gonna happen !

He is placing his notebook back in his bag, oh so ready to leave and join Baekhyun for lunch, when his ex-boyfriend speaks again.

“Hey, you don’t have class this afternoon, right ?” he says, sounding like the question isn’t really one and he already _knows_ , “I don’t either. How about we grab something to eat and we go to your place to work on the project ?”

If he has to be honest, Kyungsoo wants to laugh. Not because what Hyunsik just said is especially funny. But because of the audacity. Does he really think Kyungsoo is gonna say yes ?  
He did agree on trying to be at least cordial with the guy, but this is a bit too much.

And that’s what Kyungsoo would like to say. But his mom taught him not to be rude…

“Sorry, I already have plans. Maybe another time,” he replies instead, closing his bag and throwing it on his shoulder before exiting the classroom with swift steps.

He is perfectly aware Hyunsik knows his address, and saying that could lead him to think he is welcomed. But this is the best Kyungsoo can find without openly telling his ex he doesn’t want him in his apartment.

Everything isn’t a lie, anyway. He _does_ have plans with his best friend.

He just doesn’t have any intention of inviting Hyunsik over. Not now, not later, and preferably not _ever_.

  
Baekhyun is already seated at they usual table when Kyungsoo drops his plate next to his best friend’s.

“So, Sehun texted me and told me the chicken was coming back this weekend,” Baekhyun starts right away before Kyungsoo even has the time to sit.

The Composition major stares at the older, not sure what part of this sentence is the weirdest.

First, he wasn’t even aware Baekhyun and Sehun were on speaking term, even less already on the texting level.  
Second, why would Sehun feel the need to share this information with _Baekhyun_ ?  
And last this means Jongin would be over at Sehun’s dorm for the third time, in four weeks. Which is, as far as Kyungsoo knows, quite unusual. The dancer normally visits his best friend once a month, or even less, during exam periods.

“Okay ?” Kyungsoo however simply chooses to say.

“I invited them to come again at your place on Friday night,” his best friend announces casually, licking a drop of ketchup on his thumb.

“Do I have a word in this, or- ?”

“Nope. You don’t mind, anyway.”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo eventually shrugs after a short silence, digging in his plate.

It would be useless to go against Baekhyun. And if having Sehun and Jongin around can entertain his best friend enough to change his mind and have him smile and laugh again, at least for one more night, then so be it.

And Baekhyun is right. He doesn’t really mind having Jongin over.

And Sehun. Jongin _and Sehun_.

“He also told me he was straight,” Baekhyun adds, munching on his food.

“What ?”

“Sehun. He’s straight. And the poultry definitely knows that.”

“Wait, what the fuck are you two talking about behind our back ?”

“Aww, ‘ _our_ back’ ? The chicken and you are a package deal in your head, already ?” Baekhyun coos, tilting his head with an affectionate pout.

“Yes, the ones with idiotic best friends !” Kyungsoo snorts, reaching out to flick a rice grain off of Baekhyun’s chin.

“We’re not the idiot ones here, trust me,” his best friend smirks, quickly patting Kyungsoo’s head before his hand gets slapped away.

  
♪♫

  
\--------------Wednesday, April 5th--------------  
11:43pm

  
NiniPoodle  
_Hyung I’m coming back to Sehun’s on Friday !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I heard, yes_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _??_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _it seems your best friend is quite talkative with mine_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Uh oh  °A°_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _indeed…_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _those two together are gonna be uncontrollable_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _:/_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _Baekhyun even took the liberty of inviting you guys for our friday night thing_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Ah yeah, Sehun just texted me about that_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _If you don’t want us to come, it’s okay Hyung_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _what ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I though you were the one who invited us but it’s Baekhyun hyung who asked Sehun…_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _no but it’s fine !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _Jongin ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _it’s really fine !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _for real !!!!!_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _JONGIN_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Yeah ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _yah you scared me why weren’t you answering ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Sorry I was texting Sehun back xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’m totally fine with you coming back_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _tbh I would’ve asked if Baek didn’t !_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Are you sure it doesn’t bother you :/ ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _super sure ! It was great having you over last time !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _and Sehun_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you and Sehun_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’m glad Baek invited you before you guys could plan something else_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Okay ^-^_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I’m glad too_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _:)_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_:)_

When they bid each other goodnight, the clock on his phone is glowing with a clear 02:32am. He finally locks the device and places it on his bedside table, aware that the smile stretching his lips has been hurting his cheeks for a while now.

But he can’t help it. The idea of having Jongin over – _and Sehun_ , goddamnit brain ! – is putting him in high spirit.

He will most likely not be quite as happy when his alarm will go on in only three and a half hours, but at the moment, he doesn’t care. And when he finally falls asleep, his grin has yet to fade away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A comment : a cupcake !
> 
> To be completely honest with you, I also had issues with what was going to happen next in Mirrors, and it was really upsetting me a LOT ! I had stuff planned but then, I wasn’t sure if it was really a good idea. In the end, after talking about it with my lovely baby T, I took some decisions. So let’s hope you’ll like it…
> 
> Anyway, as usual, let me know in the comment what you thought about this chapter ! Did you like how their little gathering went ? Are you excited about the next one ? What do you think is gonna happen :P ? Any bet ?
> 
> You can find me on Twitter (@Minty_Pixie) if you wanna be updated about Mirrors or other fics I write !


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING : If someone isn’t into weird offending (AND HIGHLY SEXUAL) jokes, I’d suggest skipping the part where they play a certain card game. Although you should be used to my sense of humor if you made it to this chapter xD.

The second Kyungsoo opens the front door of his apartment, his booming laughter reverberates in the hallway and Junmyeon pushes his shoulder with a groan as he makes his way inside.

“Not you too, please,” he sighs, taking off his shoes.

“What the hell happened ?” Kyungsoo asks, not even trying to hide his hilarity as he closes the door.

“Eunji. She thought I was too pale and booked me an appointment to a tanning salon.”

“You look like an Oompa-Loompa,” Kyungsoo chokes, cracking up again as he looks at his friend’s tangerine skin.

“I didn’t think it would be _that_ intense !” Junmyeon whines, rubbing the back of his hand as if it was gonna get the sprayed carrot color off.

“What’s so funny ?” Baekhyun calls from the living room just as they enter it, “Holy shit !  How did you turn into a giant traffic cone ?” he then exclaims, earning a new groan from said road cone and yet another wave of laughter from Kyungsoo.

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore. It was a mistake. A _big_ mistake. Can we move on ?” the oldest pleads, dropping down on the couch.

“Oh, I didn’t know Nemo would join us tonight !” Chanyeol exclaims, returning from his restroom break.

“I would’ve said Garfield,” Jongdae provides with a snicker, receiving a well-aimed pillow from Junmyeon right in the face.

“Can you youngsters show some respect !”

“Hyung, it’s hard to take you seriously when you look like that,” Kyungsoo sneers, plopping down on one of the bean bag.

He however has to get up right away when the intercom rings, signaling Jongin and Sehun arrived already. He can already predict Junmyeon is gonna have a hard time tonight. Knowing the personality of his friends, as well as Sehun’s and Jongin’s, no one is gonna let him live.

And sure enough, a few minutes later, when the two youngers are making their way to his living room with extra fried chicken boxes, Jongin leans towards him to whisper, sending a whiff of vanilla and peppermint into Kyungsoo’s nose, like that day under the rain.

“Why does Junmyeon hyung look like a pumpkin ?” he asks and Kyungsoo chortles once more, the dancer laughing with him when Sehun reaches his hand out towards Junmyeon.

“Hello Charmander, I’m Sehun. Nice to meet you, I’m a big fan !”

“Lame,” Baekhyun says in a bored voice, sending Sehun a judging look, “Digimons are better.”

Junmyeon hides his face in his palms with an exaggerated sobbing noise, proving he just _knows_ he might not get a minute of peace for the next few hours.

  
Thankfully, as they dig in the food, the oldest gets the chance to avoid being the center of attention, when Jongdae starts asking Chanyeol about his girlfriend.

Or more like girlfriends, plural.

“Sunmi is really great, you know. She’s really nice. I like spending time with her,” Chanyeol says, a fond look on his face, putting his chicken wing down on his napkin, “We laugh a lot together. She thinks I’m funny, and she doesn’t mind when I’m being weird or too enthusiastic. But Seohyun...” he adds with a shy smile, “She’s perfect. She’s smart, and kind, and really beautiful... I can be myself when I’m with her. I just... I don’t know. I like them both !” he finishes with a side pout.

“Come on Chanyeol, you can’t have them both,” Junmyeon comments, frowning.

“Why not ?” Jongin then asks, his beer a few centimeters away from his lips, and every set of eyes suddenly turns to him, some surprised, some shocked.

Kyungsoo is mostly curious. Raising an eyebrow as he licks the grease from his fingers, he waits to hear what the younger has to say.

“That’s cheating !” Junmyeon protests, eyes wide open.

“Not necessarily,” Jongin shrugs, “If they’re both aware and fine with it. That’s the principle of polyamorous relationships.”

“But it’s not right ! You can’t love two persons at the same time !” the oldest contests once more.

Kyungsoo’s eyes are going back and forth between the two, feeling like he’s watching a tennis game. Even Baekhyun looks entertained and interested by the conversation, enough to stop the construction of a little house made out of chicken bones on the table.

“You love both your parents, right ? And all your friends here ?” Jongin states casually, “I know I love my two sisters just as much.”

“It’s not the same !” Junmyeon gasps and Kyungsoo tries to conceal his amused smile by biting into another piece of chicken.

Last time, Jongin brought up the genderfree topic, which has caused many questions from Kyungsoo’s friends. And now this. The Composition Major feels more amazed every day.

“Why not ?” Jongin asks again, “Just because society decided the “normal” thing was to have only one partner doesn’t mean it’s “impossible” to have an equal amount of affection for more than one person,” he continues, air-quoting some of his words with his fingers.

Definitely amazed. This is what Kyungsoo is as he stares at Jongin who sits across him, on the opposite side of the coffee table.

“To me it just sounds wrong. As if one lover is not enough,” Junmyeon counters.

“For some people, maybe. That’s another topic, though,” the dancer agrees, “But I’m sure Chanyeol hyung likes them for different reasons,” he adds, turning to said boy and tilting his head cutely.

“I do !”

“But they’re bound to be jealous !” Junmyeon interjects again, not looking like he is ready to drop the subject, and Jongin chuckles, clearly amused by the older’s persistence.

“That has nothing to do with Chanyeol hyung, though,” the dancer states, taking another gulp of his beer, “It’s only the girls’ insecurities, and maybe their lack of trust in him.” The frown on Junmyeon’s face deepens, and Jongin keeps going, looking like he really wants to explain his point of view, “If one of them thinks Chanyeol hyung is gonna leave her for the other girl, because she’s prettier, for example, it has nothing to do with him loving them both,” he says calmly, “Yes, he can reassure her, but fundamentally, it’s about her own self-confidence. Or the lack of it. Of course, that’s just an example,” he repeats with another shrug, before grabbing another piece of chicken, “I mean, it has to be consensual on all parts, with rules to define what is okay and what isn’t, but yeah...”

“You naughty boy ! Getting fuck-parties !” Jongdae snickers, nudging Chanyeol on the ribs with a mischievous smile, and Kyungsoo can already feel that Jongin is about to says something about Jongdae’s comment.

“It has nothing to do with threesomes either,” the dancer says, stopping his chewing and shaking his head just like Kyungsoo had predicted, “Or even with polygamy, actually. I’m just talking about love, here.”

“Have you ever been in a polyamorous relationship ?” Baekhyun suddenly asks, sounding genuinely interested, even though he, too, stayed silent throughout the whole conversation.

“No. But that doesn’t hinder me from understanding the philosophy behind it,” Jongin answers, before shrugging with a smile, “I mean, I never went kayaking, but that doesn’t mean I can’t understand why people find it cool.”

“That’s my best friend, y’all !” Sehun claims, patting Jongin’s shoulder with greasy fingers and a proud smile stretching his equally greasy lips.

 

At one point during the evening, and at Jongin’s request, they find themselves all gathered in Kyungsoo’s music room, ready to have some fun playing together.

Electric guitar in hand, Kyungsoo watches Baekhyun and Chanyeol bicker about which song they wanna play, before throwing a knowing look at Jongdae who laughs as he grabs the mic and plugs it into the same amp. Junmyeon is apparently drunk enough to think he can magically know how play the bass throughout an entire song, seeing how he adjusts the instrument’s strap across his shoulder. Kyungsoo knows he’s shitty at it, since he was the one trying to teach him some basic bass lines, so he doesn’t bother telling him he didn’t plug it on the amplifier.

After a quick look towards Jongin, who sends him a blinding smile, Kyungsoo decides not to wait for his two friends to agree on a song, and securing his plectrum between his fingers, he suddenly throws the famous central guitar line of Deep Purple’s _Smoke in the water_.

Just as he predicted, the argument stops right away and by the time he starts it a second time, Chanyeol’s drumming is joining him and Baekhyun is running towards the synthesizer with an excited yelp, turning it on as he sits on the stool.

Throughout the song, he realizes letting Jongdae handle the vocal parts was definitely the right thing to do. Not because he doesn’t know the lyrics, or because his friend’s voice suits the song better, but mostly because Jongin started dancing in the crowded room, and there is no need to try to multitask when it’s hard enough not to lose his focus on his guitar as he watches the dancer’s body move so graciously. He thinks Sehun dances too, at some point, but he isn’t sure.

He somehow manages to play the whole song without messing up too much, clearly distracted, before all of them relocate in the living room once again, opening new bottles of beers and munching on unhealthy snacks. Until Sehun rushes to the entryway, coming back a minute later with a Card Against Humanity box in his hands.

They decide to divide the groups in three teams, Junmyeon volunteering to play as the judge for the whole game. To Kyungsoo’s surprise, Baekhyun walks away from him and plops himself on the couch next to Sehun, starting to help him set up the piles of cards.

Fingers are then touching the back of his hand and he looks down to see Jongin already seated on the floor.

“Let’s play together ?” the younger says with an expecting smile, and Kyungsoo can’t do anything but nod dumbly and sits on the fluffy carpet next to him as Jongdae and Chanyeol settle themselves on the bean bags.

They begin with a warm up round. Junmyeon pulls out the “ _How did I lose my virginity ?_ ” black card, and it only takes a few minutes for Kyungsoo to realize the whole party is gonna be a mess, when Chanyeol and Jongdae answer with “ _Consensual, nonreproductive incest_ ”, Sehun and Baekhyun with “ _Inserting a mason jar into my anus_ ”, and Jongin decides to go for their “ _Gloryholes_ ” card.

The oldest gives the point to Baekhyun and Sehun as they are all already laughing, before he reveals the next card.

“Mom, I’m having some trouble with _blank_ , and I would like your advice,” he reads.

Instantly, Kyungsoo points at one of the card Jongin is holding for them, earning an adorable snort when the dancer reads the “ _Tentacle porn_ ” written on it, nodding right away and grabbing it.

This time, the point goes to Jongdae and Chanyeol, for their “ _Daddy issue_ ” answer, with Sehun arguing their own “ _Lance Armstrong’s missing testicle_ ” was way better and getting shushed by Junmyeon.

Unanimously, round three is won by Kyungsoo and Jongin, when they answer the “ _But before I kill you, Mr. Bond, I must show you_ _____” card with “ _How far I can get my own penis up my butt_ ”.

Kyungsoo is tearing up along with everybody, his hand unconsciously clutching Jongin’s forearm as the younger leans against him and grips his shoulder, breath hot against Kyungsoo’s neck when he attempts to muffle his laughter in the fabric of the older's hoodie.  
Hit yet again with Jongin’s sweet smell mixed with alcohol, Kyungsoo grabs their set of cards the younger previously placed on the floor, rearranging them and drawing a new one from the deck as he tries to compose himself.

“What’s fun until it gets weird ?” Junmyeon reads once everybody has gotten their hilarity under control.

Kyungsoo is pretty confident when he picks “ _Licking the cake batter off of grandma’s fingers_ ” from their set of cards, comforted in his choice by Jongin half amused and half his disgusted face.

However, the dancer’s expression suddenly shifts, obvious uneasiness painting his features when Junmyeon reads Jongdae’s and Chanyeol’s “ _Informing you I am registered as a sex offender_ ” answer.  
Through the booming laughter of their friends, Kyungsoo subtly leans towards him, brows furrowing in concern when Jongin’s eyes drop down, fingernail scratching a stain of dried sauce on the hem of his jeans.

“Hey, you okay ?” he asks quietly, fingers brushing the dancer’s hand to catch his attention.

Jongin’s gaze shoots up towards him, and he plasters a happy expression on his traits.

“Yeah ! I’m good !” he answers, nodding with a large smile.

It doesn’t look genuine, but Kyungsoo decides not to push any further when everyone’s attention suddenly focuses on him after Junmyeon gives them this round’s point too.

“What killed my boner ?” Junmyeon laughs as he reads the next card, probably knowing how wild things could go with that one. He lets them some time to choose their answer, gathering the cards he is given by each team, before reading them, “ _A defective condom,_ ” he begins, snorting right after.

“Okay, that’d kill anyone’s boner,” Sehun nods, a horrified look on his face.

“ _Child beauty pageants_ ,” Junmyeon continues, and Kyungsoo recognize his and Jongin’s card, laughing when Jongdae shrieks.

“That’s so messed up, ew !” he screams, looking scandalized, “Whose card is that ?!”

“ _Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson_ ,” Junmyeon finishes, and Kyungsoo tuts his tongue.

“I’m gonna have to disagree with that,” he says, shaking his head.

“Here we go again, I told you he’d react like that,” Baekhyun snorts as he nudges Sehun’s arm with his elbow, leaving no doubt who had given that card.

“Hey, he looks like he has a nice dick, okay ?” Kyungsoo casually states, satisfied when he hears the giggle coming from Jongin.

“Wow, could you be any gayer ?” his best friend snickers.

“I could have his dick in my mouth right now,” he answers, and once again, his grin spreads at the sound of Jongin’s laughter, throwing a glance towards the dancer and being gifted by a sincerely amused face.

Definitely better than the smile he faked earlier, Kyungsoo thinks, mentally patting himself on the head for being the one bringing Jongin’s lively expression back.

“...Fair enough,” Baekhyun deadpans after a pause, “We’re keeping the card as our answer, though.”

  
They keep playing for about another hour, drinking and snacking some more along the way, each team giving many horrifying answers that have them dying laughing, louder as the alcohol intake grows higher. Before Junmyeon eventually waves a card in front of him.

“Okay, this is the last one ! It’s getting late and we need to leave soon if we wanna catch the last subway train,” he says, surprisingly coherent considering the amount of beers he downed.

“Whoever wins this round, wins the game !” Chanyeol exclaims.

“What ? Bullshit ! We’re leading !” Sehun screams.

“Yah ! Park Cheatyeol !” an equally outraged Baekhyun yells, getting up.

Still seated on the floor, Kyungsoo’s head collides with Jongin’s as they both lean towards each other, laughing too much to sit straight, the older almost dropping the cards he is still holding.

“No, he’s right !” Junmyeon cuts, “The team with the best answer here wins the whole game ! Come on, get your cards ready !”

“So unfair,” Baekhyun mumbles, sitting back on the couch next to a grumbling Sehun who tiredly leans his head on the older’s shoulder.

“ _Blank._ Awesome in theory, kind of a mess in practice,” the oldest finally reads.

Less than five seconds later, Kyungsoo loudly cracks up again, when Jongin quickly reaches out and grabs the specific card they’ve been saving since the beginning of the game, slamming it face down on the table with an excited expression.

And finally, once he has the three teams’ cards in hand, Junmyeon reads their answers.

“ _Kanye West. Awesome in theory, kind of a mess in practice_ ,” he cackles, obviously liking the answer before switching to the next one.

“So true !” Jongdae giggles.

“ _Emotions. Awesome in theory, kind of a mess in practice,_ ” the oldest continues, “Woah, too real !” he ads with another chuckle.

“I’m sure this is Chanyeol’s card,” Baekhyun bets with a smirk.

“Shut up, I know Kanye was yours !”

“And the last… Oh god,” Junmyeon says before snorting, “The level of accuracy of this round is amazing !”

Kyungsoo glances towards Jongin, knowing this is their card, and chuckles, completely amazed when he sees the dancer is looking at Junmyeon with an excited and anticipating expression.

“ _Rimming,_ ” Junmyeon reads in a theatrical voice, “ _Awesome in theory, kind of a mess in practice !_ ”.

The whole room erupts in fit of laughter.  
And Kyungsoo would join them. He really would.

But his eyes are locked on Jongin’s face, staring at the way his eyes disappear, his lips stretch out, his nose scrunches, all at once as he laughs, proud of the effect the card he chose is having.

This childlike happiness looks the best on him, Kyungsoo thinks, no matter how many sexy faces he can pull up as he makes body rolls and hip thrusts when he dances.

And that’s when it hits him. Without any specific reason. Nothing he could pinpoint, precisely or even vaguely.

Just like that, it hits him. Kyungsoo isn’t only amazed. He is also absolutely screwed.  
Because he suddenly realizes that he likes Jongin.  
As in “he _likes_ Jongin”.  
Big time.

And as his heartbeat picks up its pace, Kyungsoo thinks how that could fucking ruin everything.

Crushing on a friend rarely ends well…

He can also already hear Baekhyun’s voice singsong “I told you~ !”

Splendidly screwed indeed.

  
♪♫

  
Kyungsoo spends the entire weekend mulling over his new discovery, trying to understand how and when he started feeling that way, and getting more and more anxious as time passes.

Seungsoo provides nothing more than a “So you finally realized ? Baekhyun was right, then !” during a skype session on Saturday night, leaving him in a deeper panicking state than he was before.  
Said best friend isn’t much more helpful the next day, his laughter ringing on the other line on the phone after claiming a really unnecessary “Wow, it took you long enough !”.

He gets the same kind of reaction at lunch on Monday. Of course, Baekhyun isn’t gonna let him live, now.

“By the way, I talked to him last night,” the older casually says after teasing Kyungsoo for almost ten minutes straight, and the Composition major freezes.

“You what ?”

“Aw, don’t be jealous, baby Soo !” Baekhyun coos, “You should’ve texted him too if you miss him !”

“I’m not jealous,” Kyungsoo deadpans, resuming his chewing.

He didn’t talk to Jongin for the whole weekend, too busy stressing over his revelation, and scared to let it slip during a conversation. Jongin didn’t text or call, to Kyungsoo’s relief. “What did you tell him ?” he adds.

“Relax, I didn’t mention anything about your little epiphany,” Baekhyun sneers, “I just had a question for him.”

“What question,” Kyungsoo asks with squinted eyes, growing more suspicious by the second.

“I saw on Sehun’s Facebook page that his birthday was this coming week. So, I wanted to know if they had something planned. Chicken-boy told me April 12th was his school’s 56th Anniversary, so he can’t come over here.”

“Oh. Okay...” Kyungsoo merely answers, thankful his best friend really didn’t let his mouth run and thinking that was all there is to it.

“So I asked if we should celebrate it with them next weekend. At Junmyeon’s house, for example. On Saturday, to accommodate more people’s schedule.”

Kyungsoo stares at him, blinking incredulously. Of course Baekhyun would have elaborated his own plan.

“Is Junmyeon okay with that ? Is he even _aware_ of your little program ?”

“Not yet ! But he’ll be fine with it ! He can’t resist my pouting !” his best friend says, jutting his lower lip to illustrate his words, “Anyway, the chicken says it was a great idea, so it’s decided.”

“Seriously, can you quit calling him like that ?” Kyungsoo sighs before overstuffing his mouth with bland rice.

“Aww, wait for him to be your official boyfriend before defending him, Knight Do.”

Chocking on the food, Kyungsoo hits his chest with his fist and gulps down his glass of water while Baekhyun laughs and pats his back.

Why did he even tell his best friend about it ?

“We say ‘Sir’ before the last name when we talk about knights,” he replies in a grumpy tone, just for the sake of having the final word.

Considering Baekhyun’s laughter, Kyungsoo didn’t win the mini battle.

 

Later that day, he has to force himself to grab his phone and answer to Jongin’s messages when the younger texts him. He’s still a bit tense, but he can’t ignore the dancer when he seems so distressed. Jongin did nothing wrong anyway. It’s all Kyungsoo’s brain messing up with him.

 

\--------------Monday, April 10th--------------  
08:42pm

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Hyung :(_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Hyuuuuuuuuuuuuuung :(((_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_?_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Rahee fell down at school and broke her cute tiny pinky finger :(((((((_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_oh no is she okay ??_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_She said it was really painful :(((((( It makes my heart hurt too_

  
Kyungsoo frown in front of his screen, feeling his own chest tightens. He doesn’t like knowing Jongin isn’t smiling.

  
**Kyungsoo**  
_poor sweetheart :(_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_I’ll be fine, you should be sad about her instead_

  
Shit. He wasn’t exactly referring to Jongin in his message – or so he tries to convince himself –, and the younger most likely knows it, but if he starts doing this kind of jokes, Kyungsoo is gonna have to be even more careful about what he says.

  
**Kyungsoo**  
_...I /was/ talking about her_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_So you don’t care that I’m sad ????_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_I thought you wanted me to be sad for her..._

 **NiniPoodle**  
_Hyung I’m kidding. It was a joke..._

 **Kyungsoo**  
_so your niece breaks her finger and you find a way to joke ???? aren’t YOU supposed to be sad ?_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_I AM OMG HYUNG !_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_it’s not that obvious_

  
This is not going well. He feels awkward. And anxious.

Abort mission.

  
**Kyungsoo**  
_anyway, I hope she’ll be fine soon_

 **NiniPoodle**  
_My poor little baby :(((((((_

  
Rereading the short conversation, Kyungsoo frowns. He managed to sound concerned, joking and mean all in the span of ten minutes. Really not going well. So he pretends he has stuff to do, just so he can avoid getting even more uncomfortable and quickly sends a “Talk to you later” message.

Jongin replies with a new squad of sad emojis, and Kyungsoo hurriedly locks his phone, fumbling with the side button before throwing it on his bed as if the device was on fire. The next second, he’s exiting the room.

Royally, majestically, remarkably screwed.

 

The rest of the week is filled with just as awkward text conversations. Kyungsoo keeps sending quirky answers to a seemingly oblivious Jongin, trying to somewhat focus on his pre-midterm exam studying. It’d be nice if he could not fail every single test the following week.  
He is so caught up in his thoughts that he posts his weekly cover a day later than he usually does, earning a tsunami of panicked comments on every single social media he uses.

  
“You didn’t put my cool joke in the bloopers,” Baekhyun pouts next to him.

They are spending their Friday night together, since Sehun’s birthday party would serve as their usual gathering on the following day.

“Oh course I didn’t !”

“Why not ?”

“You were telling me to bounce on my stool like I would bounce on Jongin’s dick !”

“So what ?” Baekhyun shrugs with a smirk, “The analogy was pertinent ! It’s not a family-friendly channel anyway.”

“And whose fault is that ?” Kyungsoo snorts, thinking of all the dirty jokes and cussing Baekhyun had thrown over the years and that ended up in his videos.

“Yours !” his best friends claims, “Since the day you decided to do a cover of a Keisha song !”

“...Okay, fair enough,” Kyungsoo finally admits, returning to his task of answering as many comments as he can while Baekhyun switches through the TV channels.

  
**chanel_dyor**   Oppa you scared me! You can’t do this! You have to inform us! Please next time be more thoughtful!

  
Like an automat, Kyungsoo types yet another apology, explaining something came up and telling how sorry he is, as well as promising to do better if it ever happens again.

He loves his followers, he really does. But some can be really exigent, borderline oppressive in their demands, and it always has him ticking when he reads this kind of comment. A lot of them don’t seem to realize that he has a life to live and this isn’t a full-time thing for him, despite being quite dedicated and spending hours creating quality content for them.

Ha ! Wait for him to tell them he won’t post anything next week because of his exams…  
Can you hear them furiously typing on their keyboards ? Kyungsoo definitely can.

“So ? Are you gonna tell him ?” Baekhyun says.

“Mmh ?”

“Are you gonna talk to the chicken, tomorrow ?”

“What are you talking about ?” Kyungsoo distractedly asks, still focused on answering another similar comment, until Baekhyun pushes his shoulder and he finally looks up, “What ?”

“Are you gonna tell chicken-boy you like him ?” his best friend questions once more, staring at him.

Kyungsoo sighs, slumping on the couch backrest and almost dropping the laptop resting on his lap.

“No.”

“Why not ?”

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” he simply replies, “Can we stop talking about him ?”

“This is literally the first time I say anything about him tonight,” Baekhyun snorts, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, but you’ve been bringing him up in conversations non-stop the whole week. It’s getting annoying.”

“Okay Mr. Grouchy, what’s wrong ? You’re even grumpier than usual,” the older says, looking concerned but not really bothered by Kyungsoo’s harsh tone.

Kyungsoo feels bad for acting like a child. He knows his best friend isn’t exactly in a good place in his life at the moment, but as much as he wants to help, it also gets tiring to always be alert and ready to comfort Baekhyun when he feels down, which still happens relatively often.  
Not even mentioning Hyunsik, who has texted him regularly, asking him to meet up to work on their project several times every day.

If it was up to him, Kyungsoo would skip the birthday party tomorrow and sleep through the whole weekend. But a little voice in his head keeps telling him he is lying to himself. No matter how awkward he will feel, he still wants to see Jongin. Even if it means having to be extra careful about every single word passing through his lips for a whole evening.

“Look, I know you wanna help, but no, I’m not gonna tell him anything about it,” he eventually answers, continuing when he sees Baekhyun opening his mouth to retort, “I don’t-... I’m not even sure it’s a permanent thing,” he adds, “Maybe I’m just... It’d be stupid to jump ahead and tell him, only to realize later it was temporary.”

“You _really_ think it’s gonna go away like that ?” Baekhyun snorts with a knowing look.

No. He doesn’t. But for the sake of winning the argument, he will pretend.

“Maybe ? Probably. I already have a lot to deal with, anyway. I don’t have time for that,” he sighs once more, “So can we _please_ drop the subject ? Today, and until I decide what to do about it ?”

Baekhyun eyes him intently for a bit longer, then slowly nods.

“Okay. But if you feel like talking about it, I’m here,” he states more seriously, finally going back to watching the TV screen.

“Yeah, I know. Thanks.”

  
♪♫

  
The dreaded evening eventually arrives, and it’s anxiously that Kyungsoo knocks on Junmyeon’s front door, birthday present in hand and an excited Baekhyun babbling behind him.  
The music is already booming inside, becoming even louder the second the door opens, revealing Sehun whose bright smile stretches even further when he sees them.

“Happy birthday again !” Baekhyun singsongs, pushing Kyungsoo aside to start a weird and intricate high five with Sehun.

Kyungsoo isn’t sure when they even created it, but shrugs it off as he goes to greet the dancer once Baekhyun has wandered inside.

As they enter the living room a minute later, Kyungsoo’s eyes fall on many new faces, gaze instinctively searching for one person in particular.  
He finds Jongin standing near the table, an already half-empty beer in his hand, talking animatedly with a guy Kyungsoo doesn’t know.

His own lips unconsciously mirror the smile plastered on the dancer’s face as he watches him for a bit longer, until a rough slap on his back forces him to focus on the giant next to him.

Awkwardness instantly fills him when he notices the girl standing next to Chanyeol. Apparently, his friend had invited his cousin, and Kyungsoo greets Sunyoung with a tight smile, clearly remembering how Chanyeol had tried to set him up with the girl on multiple occasion, despite knowing he wasn’t into women.

At least, he thinks, he had clearly asked Junmyeon to tell Eunji not to invite Hyunsik. Things didn’t end well last time he and his ex-boyfriend found themselves at Junmyeon’s place. Although Hyunsik had somewhat backed down since their conversation, Kyungsoo didn’t want to risk a repeat, even less in Jongin’s presence.

Sehun has already left to talk with other guests and the moment Chanyeol walks away to the kitchen and Sunyoung shuffles closer to him, Kyungsoo ponders if he should make a beeline towards Baekhyun. Unfortunately, he can’t find him in the crowded room. And when the girl starts speaking, he mentally sighs, knowing it would be quite rude to stand her up like that.

“So, what’s new ?” she asks cheerfully and Kyungsoo feels bad. He isn’t sure what Chanyeol told his cousin when Kyungsoo kept refusing to go on a date with her, but she seems to think she still stands a chance.

“Ah, nothing much,” he answers before clearing his throat, eyes roaming in the room to locate his damn best friend, “School and stuff, you know. The usual.”

“Yeah, college can be a struggle !” she giggles, “Your YouTube channel is doing great, though ! It’s really incredible !” she adds, “I don’t know how you do it, I would be so overwhelmed !”

He can’t even be mad at her for trying. Even if girls aren’t his thing, he can objectively say Sunyoung is pretty, and from what he heard and what he sees tonight, she seems really kind and cute. He feels even worse for wanting to escape.

“It’s not easy every day, I admit,” he replies, forcing a small grin and doing his best to at least pay attention to her, if only for a moment.

Wrong move. The bright smile she sends him makes him feel even guiltier. Could things get any worse ? Probably not.

“You really improved a lot !” she praises him, “I’ve been watching your videos for a very long time, and you can’t imagine how surprised I was when Chanyeol oppa told me he knew you !”

“Thanks,” he says with an awkward little laugh.

“It’s really nice to finally meet you in person !” she continues, looking genuinely happy.

“You too,” he smiles again with a quick nod, almost mentioning that Chanyeol had talked about her a lot and only stopping his stupid mouth at the last second.

This would do nothing good. He really doesn’t want to lead her on and hurt her.

“I can’t wait to see what songs you are gonna cover in the future,” she cutely says, “I’ll keep commenting on every single one, like I’ve been doing all this time !”

Oh, so, apparently it _could_ get worse. But Kyungsoo isn’t sure if it’s because of her last statement, or because she delicately grabbed his forearm with both hands, as if she wanted to convey her sincerity.

Abort mission.  
Retreat.  
Someone please helps !

“Hyung !”

Thank god.

He looks up to see who is the angel that came to save him, only to freeze when he sees Jongin rapidly walking towards them.

“Hey,” he merely says, not sure if he is relieved or if this all a sign he should’ve really stayed home and slept the whole weekend away.

The next seconds are the awkward-fucking-est he has ever lived.

From the corner of his eyes, he can see Sunyoung looking at him and Jongin, in turn. The dancer’s gaze is alternating between Kyungsoo, the girl and her hands still around Kyungsoo’s arm.  
And Kyungsoo himself just needs alcohol. ASAP.

If Sunyoung knows his YouTube channel, chances are she knows Jongin’s one as well. And he must be right, because as she stares at the younger, Kyungsoo sees something click in her eyes.

But right when she opens her mouth to say something, Jongin is suddenly grabbing Kyungsoo’s free arm by the wrist and very lightly pulling him away from her.

“Sorry, can I borrow Kyungsoo hyung for a minute ? I want to show him something,” he tells the girl, his eyes however returning to look at Kyungsoo.

“Uh... Y- Yeah, sure,” Sunyoung nods as her arms fall back down to her side.

“Cool, thanks,” Jongin smiles, “Come on Hyung,” he then says, walking away and gently tugging on Kyungsoo wrist so he would follow.

When they stop in front of the table, Kyungsoo expectantly looks at the younger, who only throws a glance towards the spot where Sunyoung is still standing, staring at them.

“What do you wanted me to see ?” the older asks when he notices Jongin doesn’t seem like he is gonna say anything.

“What ?” the dancer says, refocusing his attention on Kyungsoo, “Oh ! I didn’t…uhm… I just-... You...you looked a bit panicky ?”

Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow. He is almost certain this is not what Jongin was gonna say, but since there must be a reason why he went for plan B, he decides not to ask. He still isn’t certain he can talk freely without blurting out everything about his stupid little crush.

“I did ?” he starts, trying to think carefully before he speaks, “Well, I was. It’s… That’s Sunyoung, Chanyeol’s cousin,” he explains, subtly tilting his head towards where the girl still is, “She’s been trying to have him set us up on a date. Me and her, I mean.”

In the next five seconds, multiple emotions pass on Jongin’s face. He frowns first, glancing rapidly toward Sunyoung for a brief moment, then he squints, before confusion paints his features.

“But…she’s a girl,” he simply says, looking really dumbfounded, and Kyungsoo can’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, she is,” he nods, a little more relaxed now, “Which is why I kept refusing. But I’m not sure Chanyeol told her exactly _why_ this wasn’t gonna happen.”

“Oh…”

“Or if he even told her at all.”

“That sucks,” Jongin says with an adorable pout that has Kyungsoo blushing.

Fuck.  
Back to square one.  
Abort mission again.  
Someone else helps, _please_ !

“Jongin !” a voice calls, answering Kyungsoo’s prayer, right before a stunningly beautiful girl with long and bright cherry-red hair appears next to Jongin, “Oh, hi !” she then says with a cute smile when she notices Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo greets her back, glancing towards Jongin who seems to understand the silent message.

“Oh, yeah, sorry ! Hyung, this is Sooj-  Ouch !!!” the dancer suddenly shouts, cutting himself when the girl starts pinching his side repeatedly as he tries to escape from the onslaught, “Okay, okay !” he yells, half chuckling along with her when she stops, “Wow, you’re a savage ! Ugh ! So, this is _Krystal_ ,” he then says, emphasizing the name with a look towards her, “Krys, this is Kyungsoo hyung.”

There are a few seconds of floating silence, during which Krystal stares at him, before a smirk paints his lips, eyebrow raising.

“Oh, so _you_ ’re Kyungsoo !” she says knowingly, confusing the composition major even further than he was during their little playful fight.

“Uh…yes ? Nice to meet you,” he answers, not exactly sure what she meant.

“Alright, now I understand !” she tells Jongin with a chuckle, colliding her shoulder against the dancer’s own.

Her tone sounds teasing to Kyungsoo’s ears. What on earth…?

“What did you want ?” Jongin quickly asks then, apparently remembering how Krystal called his name earlier.

However, she doesn’t seem done with the ‘Kyungsoo’ topic, considering the way she dismisses the dancer and turns toward the older man.

“Do you know what your contact name in his phone is ?” she sneers, “It’s Kyungsoo S-”

The rest of her sentence ends up muffled into Jongin’s palm after he rapidly covers her mouth.

“Okay you can shut up now !” the younger says louder, to cover both the music and the “Mmhhhh” coming from her protests at being manhandled by her friend.

Kyungsoo’s eyes dart to the dancer’s other hand, who wrapped itself around Krystal’s shoulders to avoid letting her free herself. He doesn’t like it. At all.  
But he scolds himself mentally right away, panicking at his own line of thoughts. It’s not like he has any reason or right to act territorial, even in his own head. If Jongin wants to be all touchy-feely with someone, Kyungsoo doesn’t have a word to say about it.

Eventually, Jongin lets go and Krystal pushes him away, laughing, as she slaps the dancer’s forearm.

“Is that a way of treating your ex-girlfriend ?” she snickers, arranging her hair on her shoulders.

Oh great. Absolutely amazing. They actually dated.  
Can Kyungsoo go home now ? He _really_ doesn’t want to witness how close they still are any longer.

“We literally dated for twelve days !” Jongin snorts, and the words send an instant wave of weird relief soothing Kyungsoo’s mind, before he mentally punches himself, “Then you dumped me for Taemin !”

Despite the dancer’s voice being clearly amused, this being further proved by the way he playfully yanks a strand of her hair, Kyungsoo can’t help but being offended on his behalf.

He doesn’t know the girl, but really, is she dumb ? Why the hell would she break up with _Jongin_ ?  
Not to be biased, but Kyungsoo can’t find any valid reason to explain it, except the girl being stupid !

“Ah yes, the tragic story !” Krystal declaims theatrically in a movie teaser-like voice, “Jongin gets dumped by Krystal. Krystal gets dumped by Taemin,” she says, and Kyungsoo scolds himself once more when his mind provides a sneering “ _Serves her right_ ” at the last part.

“On the next episode,” Jongin continues in the same dramatic voice, “Find out whose ass will get dumped !”

“Dun dun dun !” Krystal chants, joining Jongin’s laugh a second later.

Kyungsoo watches them in silence, not really sure what to say, or if he should laugh with them, despite not being exactly amused. Then Jongin is suddenly glancing at him, chuckle stopping clean and looking somewhat worried. So Kyungsoo quickly sends him a smile, half because he doesn’t want the dancer to think Kyungsoo finds him weird, and half because his brain is reacting on instinct, and having Jongin’s attention just makes him smile.

And this is bad, he realizes. This is really, _really_ bad.  
How the fuck is he supposed to hide everything if a simple eye contact has him grinning like an idiot ?

Abort mission ?  
Yes. Abort mission.

“I- uh… I’m gonna try to find Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo says, pointing vaguely towards some random spot in the room, conscious it might sound both random and rude. But really, he just doesn’t fucking know what else to do.

“Oh... Okay,” Jongin replies, slightly frowning, probably weirded out.

“I’ll see you later,” he tells the younger, then, “It was nice meeting you,” he finishes, looking at Krystal before quickly walking away, hearing a faint but joyful “ _You too !_ ” from the girl.

He is fucking fucked.

  
He does find his best friend this time, and at the perfect moment apparently, seeing how Baekhyun is currently trying – and clearly struggling - to help a drunk girl walking towards the couch. The party hasn’t started that long ago, so Kyungsoo has no idea how she can be so waisted already, but when he sees Baekhyun sending him a panicked look, he rushes by their side and helps lifting her before they both fall.  
Once she’s settled, and after making sure she won’t throw up all over the expensive furniture, Baekhyun turns to face him.

“I saw you talking to the chicken,” he starts, tilting his head towards the kitchen so Kyungsoo would follow him there, “How did it go ?”

“Ugh, not that great. A wild ex appeared,” Kyungsoo sighs.

“What ? Is Hyunsik here ?!!” Baekhyun panics, eyes widening.

“Nah. Jongin ex-girlfriend.”

“Oh... Shit.”

“Yeah, basically.”

“Well, you should still try to spend some time with him,” Baekhyun says in a weirdly serious tone, earning a curious look from his best friend, “Midterm exams starts on Monday for us, and they’re the week after at the chicken’s school,” he continues, “So that’s two weeks without much...interactions. Just saying.”

“How do you even know that ?”

“Sehun told me.”

“You spend an awful lot of time chatting with him, huh ?” Kyungsoo snorts, eyeing his best friend suspiciously.

“Aw, you’re jealous. That’s cute !” Baekhyun coos, squishing the younger’s cheeks between his palms, “Don’t worry, you’re still my favorite !”

“Yeah, whatever,” Kyungsoo chuckles, pushing the hands away, “I need a drink if I wanna go through this evening without going crazy.”

“May I remind you the Catallena incident ?” the older says, raising an eyebrow, “Don’t get _too_ plastered, okay ?”

“If I do, you’ll have my back, right ?” Kyungsoo asks and he watches as Baekhyun, back to looking strangely serious, stares at him for long seconds.

“Yeah. Of course I will.”

Kyungsoo ends up serving himself a rum and coke, with an alcohol-versus-soda ratio leaning more towards the liquor side, before squaring his shoulders and taking a deep breath as he stands in front of the kitchen closed door.

Baekhyun pats him on the back, his own drink in hand, and with a last nod, Kyungsoo pushes the door and enters the living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT IS HAPPENING ! Kinda ?
> 
> I really REALLY hoped you liked it ! Tell me in the comments what you think of everything happening in here ! I can't wait to know :P !


	16. Chapter 16

Midterms are, for the lack of a better word, strenuous. And as Kyungsoo exits the room he took his last exam in, it becomes clear that he was right all along. He does _not_ have time to get distracted with stupid crushes. Or ex-boyfriend trying to get them to be buddies again.

He needs to focus and stop letting his mind wander on what ifs. He also needs to stop binge-watching Jongin’s videos. He might have already seen them all a dozen times, anyway. In the past week. When he should’ve been studying. Or sleeping. Or doing anything else more productive, for that matter.

Watching Jongin’s vlogs on his phone as he gets ready in the morning doesn’t really count, but he probably should stop that too. Especially since the dancer always end those videos by getting really close to his camera to almost kiss the lens, and Kyungsoo started wanting to kiss his phone’s screen at the same moment.  
Not good.

And of course, Jongin himself isn’t helping. The younger had been very committed on wishing him good luck every morning, as well as asking how the exams of the day went, every night. They mostly communicate by text messages, although Jongin did call him on Thursday night, to tell him he was sad he wouldn’t have a cover video to watch as he eats that night – which is what he does every Thursday, Kyungsoo learned during that phonecall. It had the older blushing, and his eyes automatically stared at Jongin’s face on his laptop screen, where he had paused the video he was watching right before the dancer called.

His stomach kept tightening every time Jongin laughed, and this morning, the same happened when the younger sent a laughing emoji because Kyungsoo’s idiot brain remembers the sound way too clearly and he can fucking _hear it_ in his head.

All in all, Kyungsoo is fucked. But he knew that already.

  
He flops down on his couch the minute he gets home, turning the tv just for the sake of having some sound in the background – and alternatively, not get tempted to open his laptop and immediately watch the video Jongin posted today. When he unlocks his phone, four notifications of text messages pop up.  
His mom is asking how midterms went and reminding him to call his grandmother to wish her a happy birthday the next day; Seungsoo’s message is pretty much the same, with an added “How are things going with dancer boy ?”.  
True to himself, Baekhyun is teasing the crap out of him, pretending to be sad for Kyungsoo because he isn’t gonna see Jongin tonight after spending several Friday nights in a row with the younger.  
The last one is from Hyunsik, and unfortunately requires an answer, since half of the semester has now passed and Kyungsoo is gonna have to eventually agree to spend time with his ex to work a little more seriously on their project. They did make some progress, thankfully, but not enough, so he grudgingly replies they can meet each other on Sunday to get some work done.

He tries not to get bummed out that Jongin hasn’t written him, knowing the dancer must be drowning under comments to answer to, as he is every Friday after posting his weekly video. So he quickly locks his phone once he has replied to all his messages, just to make sure he doesn’t start texting Jongin when he knows he shouldn’t.

  
Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long before he finally gives up, and with a sigh, he turns on his laptop, going straight away on YouTube and clicking on the most recently posted video in his subscription list.  
As he recognizes the beat of the song right away, Kyungsoo braces himself, getting ready for the roller coaster of emotions that will undoubtedly come once Jongin starts his controlled body waves.

However, it only takes a few seconds for him to start frowning, face inching closer to the screen as he quickly taps on the full screen icon. The enlarged images only confirm his first thoughts. Something’s off, and he grabs his phone, hurriedly typing and hitting Send before really thinking about it.

  
\--------------Friday, April 21th--------------  
07:38pm

 **Kyungsoo  
** _are you okay ?? did you hurt yourself ????_

  
Less than a minute later, a new bubble appears on the opposite side of the screen.  
  


**NiniPoodle  
** _Uh ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’m watching your video_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Oh_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _what happened ????!!!?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Ah it’s nothing xD_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _My back is just acting up lately :/_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _why did you record a video then ????!!_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you should be resting !!!!!!! not practicing non stop !!!!!!!!!!_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _My exams are starting on Monday, I can’t really afford to relax xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _then why are you giving yourself extra work ???!!??!!!!!!!!!!_

  
At this point, Kyungsoo knows his messages look like he got a bunch of punctuation marks on sale, but really, he can’t help it.

  
**NiniPoodle  
**_I’m okay, Hyung ^-^_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _no you’re not !!!!!!!!_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you’re in pain :(_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt that much_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _are you lying right now ???_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _…_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Yes. But I’ll be fine !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _HOW ? your midterms are starting THREE DAYS §!!!!!!!_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you’re gonna have to push yourself EVEN FURTHER for a WHOLE WEEK §§§!!!!!!!!_

  
Seems like he got capitalized letters on sale too. Oh, well.  
  


**NiniPoodle  
** _I’ll rest after !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you can’t see it, but I’m frowning REALLY hard right now !_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _xD Don’t_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I’ll be alright ^-^ ! Promise !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you better_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _or I’ll come over after your exam and make sure you stay in bed all day for the whole weekend_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _even if I have to tie your arms to the headboard._

 **NiniPoodle  
** _…._

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Is that supposed to be a threat or a BDSM technique of seduction ? ;P_

  
On his laptop screen, the video ends with Jongin provokingly winking at the camera, the tip of his tongue resting on his upper lips, and Kyungsoo chokes on air, the image fitting way too well the emoji the dancer just used.  
He didn’t pay much attention to the video, too busy texting the younger, but watching it again will have to wait, clearly.

  
**NiniPoodle  
**_Hyung ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _a threat_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _it was a threat_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Okay xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’m serious though, you need to be careful_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Awww are you worried ? :P_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _of course I am_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _it sucks to know you’re in pain_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I promise I’ll be careful_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _And I’ll spend the whole weekend after midterms in my bed_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _good._

 **NiniPoodle  
** _By the way, the week after, I might come to K-arts since I have a few days of break !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _really ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Yeah, to cheer on Sehun ! He’s participating in the track and field relay !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _the what ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _...He’s in the track and field team ? For your school_ _Athletic Festival ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Wait, did I mess up the dates  °A° ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _oh fuck ! I had forgotten O.O_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _yeah no you got the dates right_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I think Baekhyun joined the same team actually_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _wait_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Seriously xD ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _yeah, just checked on previous messages_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _he did_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _We can go cheer on them together then :) !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _sure !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’m not doing any tricks with pompoms though_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Pfff you chicken_

  
That has Kyungsoo snorting. If only Jongin knew...  
  


**NiniPoodle  
** _Fine, I’ll do that on my own then xD_

 **NiniPoodle** _  
But you have to make it up to me !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _what ? why ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Just because !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _are you actually gonna do pompom tricks ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _...No_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _But you still have to make it up to me._

 **Kyungsoo  
** _that’s...not very coherent_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _It is for me !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _..._

 **Kyungsoo  
** _fine_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _how about coffee ? before their race_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Perfect :)_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _cool, it’s a date then_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I mean_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _not a date as in a “date” date_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _just_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you know_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Relax Hyung xD I know what you meant_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _It’s a non-date date ;)_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _yeah_

  
Thankfully for his racing heart, Kyungsoo quickly manages to switch topic by starting to talk about The Chainsmokers’ new album released earlier in the month. Since he recognized the track _It won’t kill ya_ from that exact album as being the one Jongin danced to in this week’s video, he knows this will be quite effective, and it’s with a relieved sigh that he reads Jongin excited comments about every single song.

Later, the images of Jongin’s body rolling and popping on the electro sound of the chorus and the way he lipsyncs the last line while looking straight at the camera before winking have him sighing loudly, knowing he is unquestionably fucked.  
Suggesting that _non-date date_ was _such_ a bad idea.

  
♪♫

  
“So, I was thinking we could do that at your place !”

Kyungsoo looks up from his lunch plate, only to see Baekhyun staring at him with a smile.

“Sorry, do what ?”

“You didn’t listen to anything I just said, am I right ?” Baekhyun says with a smirk, looking half amused and half blasé.

“Sorry...”

“You’re still not done figuring out what to do about poultry-boy ?”

“Can you _stop_ with the nicknames ?” Kyungsoo sighs, rolling his eyes, “And no, I’m not done. I did something stupid.”

“Why am I not surprised ?” Baekhyun chuckles, “Okay, what did you do ?”

“I kind of invited him out for coffee...”

The face his best friend pulls up in the next second is the exact reason why he didn’t tell him before. Baekhyun looks both overly thrilled and mischievous. And this is never, _ever_ , a good combo when it comes to him.

“You fucking have a _date_ with him ?!! Fuck, how did this happen ?!!” Baekhyun shouts, earning them a few weird looks from people around in the cafeteria.

“It’s not a date. It’s just...coffee.”

“Yeah, _right_ ,” the older sneers, a knowing look on his face.

“It is. I’m not even sure _why_ I suggested it.”

“Because you like him, duh !”

“Yes but... I mean... We were texting and then...I don’t know...he said something and then suddenly I was like ‘Hey let’s go grab a coffee together’ ! And then he was like ‘Yeah perfect !’ and... Shit this is bad.”

Not that he was expecting compassion here, but Baekhyun’s snort is not what he would really need.

“You totally want it to be a date, don’t you ?” his best friend says after a silence.

“Shut up,” he answers, diving in his food to avoid Baekhyun’s entertained gaze.

“Well, it’s still a good opportunity to spend some time with him... Alone...” the older says in a teasing voice, and although Kyungsoo isn’t looking at him, he knows Baekhyun must be wiggling his eyebrows.

“I guess, yeah... Anyway, what were you taking about ? What do you wanna do at my apartment ?” Kyungsoo asks, suddenly remembering.

“My birthday !” Baekhyun singsongs with a big grin, “It falls on a Saturday, and I don’t wanna do anything big this year, so I thought we could just…hang out like we do on Friday nights ! Except we’ll have a cake with candles as dessert !”

Kyungsoo can’t say he didn’t see that coming. Maybe not the part about the event being held at his place, but he kind of expected Baekhyun not wanting to do anything special.

Taeyeon had been the one organizing his best friend’s surprise birthday parties, for the last few years, asking for Kyungsoo’s help about some details, but mainly arranging everything on her own. And it had been a big success every single time. She knew exactly how to make Baekhyun happy. Even Kyungsoo wouldn’t have done better.

He can see Baekhyun is trying to act as if it isn’t a big deal, which is precisely why Kyungsoo refused to prepare a surprise party when Chanyeol and Jongdae suggested it. For one, they could’ve never match the ones Taeyeon organized and that in itself might’ve brought back memories of her that his best friend was trying so hard to forget. But most importantly, he had preferred to let him decide what he wanted to do for the occasion, if he wanted to do anything at all.  
And clearly, he had been right.

“Yeah, sure ! Let’s do that !”

“Awesome ! I was planning on inviting Henry hyung and Minseok hyung too, with Heeyeon noona, of course ! And Junmyeon hyung will probably bring Eunji too.”

“Nice, it’s been a while since we spent time with them !”

“And obviously, Sehun and the chicken are on the guests list too !”

“You already told Sehun about it, haven’t you ?”

“Yep ! But I’m gonna let you be the one inviting your future boyfriend.”

“It’s _not_ a date !”

“But hopefully he will be, after that coffee !”

“You promised you wouldn’t tease me about Jongin, remember ?” Kyungsoo sighs.

“That was before you finally realized you liked him. Sorry, the deal is off.”

“Yeah, well...it’s still not a date, so don’t get your hopes up.”

“My dick is very single at the moment, so please, let me live through you,” Baekhyun says, faking a serious tone and lightly bowing at the end before chuckling.

“Fine, fine, I’ll invite him,” Kyungsoo agrees through his half-chewed mouthful, thinking this would end the conversation. But clearly, the way Baekhyun is staring at him, looking like he’s waiting for something, Kyungsoo is wrong, “What, _now_ ?” he asks, raising his eyebrows.

“Yes Kyungsoo, _now_.”

“He’s in the middle of an exam, though...” Kyungsoo says after checking his wrist watch.

“It’s lunch time,” Baekhyun retorts, visibly not believing him.

“Yeah, his last morning exam is supposed to end at 1pm today.”

“Aww, you even know his detailed schedule, so cute !”

“Shut up. He just told me this morning.”

“Aww, you’re texting in the mornings, so cute !”

“Fine ! I’ll text him now if you just _stop_ that !”

“Do it first, then I’ll consider stopping.”

“You’re the most annoying person I’ve ever met, you know that ?” Kyungsoo sighs, closing his eyes.

“Yeah, but you love me !”

Knowing he lost the battle anyway, Kyungsoo settles for giving Baekhyun the middle finger, before grabbing his phone and sending the damn text message.

“Happy ?”

“Very much ! Now, we need to plan your outfit for you date !”

With a groan, Kyungsoo stuffs his mouth with food. When has he ever won against Baekhyun, anyway ?

  
♪♫

  
\--------------Tuesday, May 2nd--------------  
02:14pm

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Hyung where are you ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _at a table in the far back_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you’re here ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _just arrived, I’m coming in !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _look for a black leather jacket_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Why am I not surprised xD ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Ah ! Here you are !_

  
Right on cue, Kyungsoo turns around in his chair, spotting Jongin immediately, cladded in light-blue jeans and a bright yellow sweater. He isn’t sure what’s written on it, but the way the oversized sleeved fall on Jongin’s hand is way too adorable for Kyungsoo to handle, considering how nervous he already is.

_It’s not a date. Really not a date. Chill the fuck out._

Definitively, the blinding smile isn’t helping either, as Jongin happily makes his way towards the table, forcing the sun into retirement, and sending Kyungsoo’s brain into a loop of incoherent sounds.

“Did you wait for long ?” Jongin asks as he sits in front of Kyungsoo with a worried face.

“No, just got here a few minutes ago !”

It’s not exactly true, but he doesn’t really wanna explain how early he got here, or how the waitress started sending him non-subtle looks of pity the last two times he said he was waiting for someone when she came to take his order. The girl probably thought he got stood up.  
Just for the sake of it, he sends her a quick look with a little smirk, adding a very mature “Neener-neener” in his head when he sees her glancing at Jongin, evident surprise in her tiny eyes.

_Not a date. Right. Get your shit together._

“So ! Where are your pompoms and your cheerleader uniform ?” he asks with a side smile.

“Alas ! They had to stay at the dorm !” Jongin starts in a theatrical tone, before adding “Too much wind, today, that skirt would’ve revealed more than it should,” he adds with a shrug and a playful grin.

“Sehun will be devastated,” Kyungsoo replies, chuckling.

Just as Jongin is about to answer, the waitress magically appears next to their table and Kyungsoo discretely sighs. He is about to _finally_ order his drink, when he notices she isn’t even paying him attention, her eyes focused entirely on the younger.

“You...you’re Kai, right ?” she then asks, stuttering on her words, and Kyungsoo slaps himself mentally.

 _Of course_ she recognized him. He should’ve known better than to think she was just surprised he got himself a hot…… _non-date._

That’s not good, though. This is precisely why he chose a table in this far corner, earlier, knowing at least one of them might get recognized, being this close to his university, where pretty much everyone knows who he is, and by extension, who Jongin is.

“Ah, yes, that would be me.”

“Oh my god !” she squeals, hands covering her mouth, “I love you so much ! I watch every single of your video, you’re so talented ! Oh my god, can we take a picture together ?”

“Sure !” Jongin answers nicely, with a smile, proving he is used to this kind of situations, before glancing at Kyungsoo and mouthing a quick ‘ _Sorry_ ’. No need to, really. Kyungsoo is familiar with random people recognizing him when he less expects it.

However, the younger’s grin turns into an embarrassed face the second the waitress bluntly hands her phone to Kyungsoo, asking _him_ to take the photo. If that girl was trying to make sure he doesn’t get an oversized ego, she succeeded !

So with a little laugh, he nods and diligently snaps a few pictures, making sure the lens is focusing properly.  
Mostly on Jongin’s face, but Kyungsoo won’t admit it if you ask.  
The dancer does seem to be looking at Kyungsoo rather than directly at the camera, anyway. That’s the excuse the older will probably give you.

After a few minutes of fangirling, the waitress _finally_ takes their order, although Kyungsoo can clearly see she focuses more on taking mental notes of what Jongin likes – probably to post in on twitter later with the picture – rather than about Kyungsoo’s order.

But since he does get his white chocolate mocha, he couldn’t care less if she doesn’t pay him any attention, too busy as he is pretending to study the whipped cream on top of his drink just to avoid looking at Jongin for too long.

“So, how is the festival going ?” Jongin eventually asks after taking a sip from his spiced hot chocolate.

“Well, Chanyeol’s team won the basketball tournament yesterday, which means we’ll hear him brag about it for months, since he totally thinks it’s thanks to him,” Kyungsoo snorts, sending a knowing look to the dancer.

“Was it ?”

“How could it not ? He was taller than all the guys in the opponent team… _And_ , he was screaming all along.”

“Scary…”

“You have no idea ! I wouldn’t want to be the one trying to keep the ball away from him,” the older says, scared just thinking about having to face his giant friend on a sports field.

“What about the others ?”

“Jongdae’s team was in good position in the rugby tournament this morning. The finale is later today,” Kyungsoo smiles, remembering how he heard the man shout even from the highest bleachers, “They have a good chance of winning ! And I think Junmyeon hyung did well on the marathon last night too !”

“You _think_ ? You don’t know ?”

“I didn’t go,” Kyungsoo explains, “It started raining like crazy right before it begun. I really like him, but not enough to risk catching the flu, thank you very much.”

“Does he still look like a pumpkin ?”

“It got better,” Kyungsoo chuckles, “But for a few days he was super red, from all the scrubbing. He even took a bath with slices of lemons,” he adds, earning a goofy laugh from Jongin, “So he basically went from pumpkin to tomato for a while. That was fun.”

“I hope you took pictures !”

“I’ll send them to you,” Kyungsoo nods with a mischievous smile.

  
The minutes pass as they casually chat, sipping on their hot drinks, and Kyungsoo almost forgets how nervous he was before meeting Jongin for their non-date date.

“Hold on !” Jongin exclaims after Kyungsoo revealed yet another stupid information, a big drop of hot chocolate running down his chin as he suddenly laughs, “You _kissed_ him ? he asks, wiping the sugary liquid with a napkin.

“We were _drunk_ !”

“But...he’s straight ?” the dancer says, his intonation sounding more like a question than an affirmation.

“He is ! One hundred percent ! But we were _really_ wasted,” Kyungsoo shrugs, taking a napkin himself to swipe the table in front of Jongin, where another drop was spilled when the younger choked on his drink, “At that point, I’m pretty sure he wasn’t making a difference between a dick and a vagina.”

“Wow… But what about you ?”

“Me ?”

“Yeah, were you... _Are_ you attracted to him ?” Jongin asks, eyebrow raised.

“No, it just kind of happened, I guess ?” Kyungsoo answers quickly, “I mean, from my totally subjective gay point of view, Baek isn’t…unpleasant to look at,” he says with a pensive expression, “But no, I wasn’t attracted to him. I’m still not, now. He’s just my best friend.”

Clearly, Jongin wasn’t asking for that much information, but Kyungsoo doesn’t really want him to think he is attracted to Baekhyun. Or to _anyone_ , for that matter. Not even to Jongin himself. It would probably be best to change the topic, as soon as he can.  
But his brain and his mouth seem to disagree with each other, and before he knows it, he blurts out the question that has been in his mind for weeks.

“What about you and Sehun, though ?”

“What about us ?” Jongin asks back, cutely tilting his head.

_Talk about something else ! Anything ! Don’t fucking ask !_

“Are _you_ attracted to him ?”

_Goddamnit._

“Am I... What ?”

_Good job, Kyungsoo. Just shut your fucking mouth !_

If he has to be honest, Kyungsoo isn’t even sure he wants to know the answer, which is why his brain starts to reel when he sees Jongin opening his mouth to reply. But by some miracle, his phone suddenly starts to ring, making them both jump when the device makes their table vibrate.

 _Saved by the bell_ , Kyungsoo accurately thinks, the chorus of Satellite’s _Ring The Bells_ echoing for a few more seconds before it stops.  
Only to start again shortly after.

Picking up the face-down phone to look at the caller’s name, Kyungsoo grimaces, and quickly sends it to voicemail. He doesn’t want to deal with that now.

“Not answering ?” Jongin asks casually, sipping some more of his spiced hot chocolate.

“Nah, it’s fine. He can wait,” he says, shaking his head, “So, what-”

Once more, the table trembles in sync with Kyungsoo’s phone when his text message ringtone chimes. Rolling his eyes, he grabs the device once more, the screen still lit with the notification.

   
From : **Hyunsik**  
02:58pm-  
_KYUNGSOO ANSWER YOUR FUCKING PHONE ITS IMPORTANT !!!!!_

  
And before he even has the time to sigh, Satellite’s melody goes off again, signaling a new incoming call.

“I’m sorry,” he says to Jongin, frowning as he keeps looking at his flashing screen.

“No, it’s alright ! Go ahead !” the younger smiles, looking away to give Kyungsoo some privacy when he finally answers the call.

“What ?” Kyungsoo asks, not even trying to hide the annoyance in his tone.

“Soo, we have a big problem !”

“What again ?”

“My USB stick crashed, and when I opened it again, it was empty !”

“What ?!!!” Kyungsoo shouts, making Jongin jumps on his chair and almost dropping his mug, drops of hot chocolate sloshing out and ending their course on the yellow sweater.

Bowing apologetically to the few people around them giving him a nasty look and breathing another apology to Jongin, Kyungsoo clench his teeth, trying to remain calm.

“Are you kidding me ?” he scream-whispers, hoping Hyunsik just made that up to have an excuse to talk to him.

“No, I’m not ! There’s a pop-up window saying it’s corrupted !”

“Sik, what the fuck !” Kyungsoo hisses, the old nickname coming out unconsciously as he looks up, only to see Jongin mouthing a silent ‘ _Everything’s okay ?_ ’, to what he simply nods with a wince, “Did you try to recover the lost data ?” he then asks, slightly starting to panic.

“No, how do I do that ? Wait, when I right-click, I have the possibility of formatting it, should I try ?”

“No !!!!” Kyungsoo shouts once more, not caring anymore about the irritated looks he is getting from other clients, “You’re gonna delete everything for good if you do that !”

“What do I do, then ?” Hyunsik whines on the other side of the line, and Kyungsoo loudly sighs.

Of course, this _has_ to happen when he is with Jongin. Life is unfair, quote him on that.

“Fine... I’ll just...” he starts, sending yet another apologetic look towards Jongin, who only smiles and nods reassuringly at him, “I’ll come over,” he finally says to Hyunsik.

“Don’t worry,” Jongin whispers, still softly grinning.

“Just...don’t do anything. Don’t _click_ on _anything_ , you hear me ?” he presses, feeling just a tiny bit better when he hears Jongin chuckle.

“Okay, I won’t,” Hyunsik replies.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Kyungsoo says before hanging up and looking back at the dancer in front of him, “I’m really sorry...”

“It’s okay !”

“I... Are you...”

“I’ll finish my drink and then I’ll go directly to K-Arts.”

“Okay. I...uhm...”

“Just go,” Jongin gently laughs, “I don’t know what happened, but it sounded serious.”

“Ugh, we’ve been paired for a project and my classmate apparently lost every data we’ve collected, as well as the report we started,” Kyungsoo says, a mix of anger and panic bubbling up in his mind as he stands up and slides his chair closer to the table.

“Oh shit...”

“Yeah... I’m seriously sorry, Jongin.”

“Don’t be ! This is more important !” the dancer says, shaking his head with that everlasting gentle smile still grazing his lips,” And I’m not the one who’s gonna have to face Baekhyun hyung’s wrath !” he adds with a barely contained chuckle.

“Fuck, he’s gonna kill me...”

“Probably yeah !” Jongin nods, clearly amused, “I’ll explain to him, don’t worry. You should hurry, before your classmate messes up even more.”

“Okay... I’ll... I’ll call you ?” Kyungsoo hesitates, “If I fix the problem quickly, maybe I’ll be able to make it for the race...”

“Sure !”

“Okay...” he repeats for what feels like the hundredth time, “Then...bye ?”

“Bye,” Jongin nods, lightly laughing again with a little hand wave.

On his way to the exit, Kyungsoo halts, and quickly strides to the front counter, paying for both their drinks before leaving for good. Maybe that could at least make up for the way he left Jongin.

 _Damn you, Hyunsik_.

  
This last thought unfortunately stands for most of the afternoon, during the long hours it takes him to try to recover everything the fucking USB flash drive decided to delete.

When he finally lets out a relieved breath at the sight of all the files, his watch is already showing it’s way past 5pm, so he just sighs and quickly sends a group text to Jongin, Sehun and Baekhyun, apologizing for missing the race.

“You were busy when I called you, weren’t you ?” Hyunsik asks, looking somewhat guilty.

“Yeah, I was supposed to go see some friends running for the relay,” Kyungsoo answers with a tired nod, transferring all the data on his own external hard drive, just to have a back up in case Hyunsik’s USB stick throws another random tantrum.

“Did _you_ join any team ?” his ex-boyfriend then inquires, offering him a can of soda.

“Maybe you forgot, but I’m not exactly the over-athletic type...”

“No, I remember,” Hyunsik chuckles, “Your little tummy was cute !”

The comment suddenly brings back fun memories of a seventeen-year-old Hyunsik pinching said tummy until Kyungsoo was laughing so much he couldn’t even properly breathe, and he can’t help but snort.

“Well, it isn’t here anymore, thank you very much !” he says with a smirk and a pointed look.

“Really ?”

And Kyungsoo should’ve anticipated it, but he still violently flinches with a yelp, fighting back a laugh when Hyunsik quickly reaches out and pokes his stomach, before trying to slap the hand away.

“Fuck off !” he squeals, chortling as he tries to contort his upper body out of Hyunsik’s reach.

“Still ticklish, huh ?”

“Don’t !”

The devilish fingers stop a few centimeters away from Kyungsoo’s side as he sends Hyunsik a warning look, completely contradicted by the smile he is trying to control. Thankfully, his ex-boyfriend backs away and Kyungsoo finally opens his soda.

“Hey, since you’re here… You wanna work on the report some more ?” Hyunsik asks nonchalantly, without even looking at him.

“Yeah, okay,” Kyungsoo agrees after a short silence, “I already missed the relay, so Baekhyun’s gonna skin me alive, anyway.”

“Rest in peace...”

“Yeah, thanks,” Kyungsoo snorts, playfully pushing away a cackling Hyunsik before they dive into work.

 

“How was the race ?” he sloppily asks way later that night, on the phone with Jongin as he climbs up the stairs to his apartment.

“Are you drunk ?” Jongin asks back with a small laugh.

“Ah...yeah. We worked on the report and then...we stopped working on the report,” he eloquently replies, stopping in the middle of the stairs to avoid tipping forward, “His roommate had vodka under his mattress.”

“Did you make any progress on that report, at least ?”

“I think ? Probably, yeah, but I also- Ouch ! Fuck ! Ouch !”

“Hyung ?”

Jongin’s voice is faint, coming from the phone who ended up three steps lower. Sitting on his butt, Kyungsoo reaches for it, trying to balance himself as much as he can in his state as he checks the screen is still intact.

“Hyung ?! Are you okay ? Kyungsoo hyung !”

“I’m here, I’m here,” the older groans, in pain.

“What happened ? Did you fall ?”

“What ? How do you know ?” he asks, blinking repeatedly to get his eyes to focus.

“I felt the ground shaking. You might have provoked an earthquake in Seoul,” Jongin says, sounding dead serious to Kyungsoo’s drunk ears.

“What’s that supposed to mean ?” he asks, only getting a cute laugh from the other side of the line, “Wow, the disrespect.”

“I’m kidding,” the younger assures him with yet another chuckle.

“Rude !”

“It was a joke !”

“I’m hanging up,” Kyungsoo declares as he tries to get up, clammy hand clasped around the stairs railing.

“Hyung, no ! I was kidding !” Jongin yells, “Hyung, you’re not fat, your body is perfect the way it is, I was joking !” he shouts, still half laughing.

“I hate you.”

“You hate me ?”

“No. But I need to find my apartment’s door.”

He is vaguely conscious he doesn’t make much sense, but Jongin is giggling again, so he guesses it doesn’t matter that much.

  
♪♫

  
Baekhyun does end up pouting quite a lot during the rest of the week, and it takes a lot of energy – and a lot of money to buy him food – out of Kyungsoo, until the older eventually accept his apology.

The promise of having not one, but two presents ready for his birthday probably helped as well. And it is most likely one of the reasons for the large smile Baekhyun greets him with, as he enters Kyungsoo’s apartment on that Saturday evening.

“Sehun and the nugget are on their way !” he chirps, removing his jacket and throwing it over Kyungsoo’s head.

“I know, Jongin texted me.”

“Awww, he’s even telling you all about where he is and what he’s doing !”

“Didn’t _Sehun_ send you a message too ?” Kyungsoo asks, raising an eyebrow as he hangs the jacket on the coat rack.

“Yeah. But that’s not the same. By the way, have you seen what’s trending on Instagram since Tuesday ?”

“No ? What is it ?”

“...Nevermind.”

“Baek...”

“I’ll tell you later ! Now, where’s the cake ?”

“In the fridge. Don’t touch it.”

Of course, by the time the candle-blowing part of the night comes, the poor cake is already missing about one-fourth of its slices, the frosting now reading ‘HAPPY BIRT BAEKH’.

“You got a fairy who likes cake in your fridge or what ?” Jongin asks him when he sees it.

“Hella big fairy, then.”

“Kyungsoo ate it !” Baekhyun provides before singing the birthday song to himself, already way past the tipsy stage.

“No, I didn’t !”

“Sweet tooth huh ?”

“Don’t start again ! I’m still mad for what you said the other night !” Kyungsoo says, squinting his eyes and pretending to glare at Jongin, “I’m not fat !”

“I didn’t say it like that !”

“Yes, you did !”

“Okay, I did. But I didn’t _mean_ it like that !”

“Yes, you did !”

“Okay, I did, but I was _joking_ !”

“Were you, though ?”

“Yes, I was !” Jongin shouts, eyes wide open until he finally realizes Kyungsoo is trying to hold back his laughter.

“I’m scared,” Baekhyun says.

“Me too,” Chanyeol adds, immediately followed by a “Me three” coming from Sehun.

“Jongin’s really out of character, here. He usually only acts like this with me,” the youngest continues.

“You know, I’m right here…”

“Same for Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun agrees, “I’m the only one he cutely fights with !”

“Cutely fights ?” Sehun inquires, raising an eyebrow.

“Come on, look at him, he’s a cute little grumpy kitty !”

“I’m right here, too...” Kyungsoo sighs, glancing at Jongin who seems just as blasé as he is.

“A kitty ? I thought you said he looks like a penguin...”

“Yeah, that too.”

“And he calls Jongin the Chicken or the Poultry,” Chanyeol throws out, “The Nugget, sometime too,” he adds with a shrug.

“Wait what ? Why ?” said chicken gasps.

“Baek also calls you the Greyhound,” Chanyeol then announces to Sehun, “Just saying.”

“What’s with you and animals ?”

“Focus Sehun ! Our besties are cheating on us ! With each other !” Baekhyun claims, pointing at Kyungsoo and Jongin.

“Please Hyung, don’t ever use the word ‘bestie’ ever again,” Sehun blankly says, patting Baekhyun’s chest.

“Yeah, okay, I’m gonna need a new best friend,” Kyungsoo says, eyelids closing as he rubs his temples, “Slots are open.”

“Hey !”

“Yah !”

Baekhyun’s and Sehun’s simultaneous shouts have Kyungsoo flinching and opening his eyes back again.

“Why are you raising your hand, you traitor ?!!” Sehun yells, and only then Kyungsoo sees Jongin with his hand raised high up in the air, apparently volunteering for the job, and laughing as the youngest tries his best to yank his arm down.

“I fucking told you !” Baekhyun hollers towards Sehun, grabbing Kyungsoo by the elbow and pulling him away from Jongin.

Th whole scene is completely absurd, even for him who is in the middle of it. But when he catches Jongin’s eyes looking at him with the most adorable smile Kyungsoo has ever seen, he can’t even bother trying to make sense of everything.  
It seems like nothing really matters much, when Jongin is around.

And there is probably no word to describe how fucked he is.

 

“I don’t think so, but Baekhyun almost put a grasshopper in his ear, once !” Kyungsoo says a few hours later, after half of the people already left and the remaining ones went through a round of tequila shots and started asking each other random questions.

“I was seven ! And it was your fault !” his best friends protests, sounding evidently inebriated.

“Wait, why a grasshopper ?” Jongin asks, cheeks red from the drinks he had before as he looks at Kyungsoo who is seated on the floor next to him.

Kyungsoo isn’t exactly sure how he ended up sitting there, nor does he know if he likes it, or if it just makes it harder to control himself and not reach out to swipe the tiny scrap of dried out frosting in the corner of the younger’s lips.

“My ear was whistling,” Baekhyun whines, “And Soo told me it was because I had a _cricket_ in it ! It wasn’t even true !”

“He decided to give the cricket a friend,” Kyungsoo explains, “So it wouldn’t feel too lonely.”

“I’m not sure if it’s cute or just really dumb,” Sehun deadpans, Chanyeol agreeing right away.

“Hey, I was already nice back then !”

“If by ‘nice’, you mean stupid,” Kyungsoo scoffs, “Then yes, you were really, _really_ nice !”

“Fuck you !” Baekhyun laughs, throwing a salted peanut on Kyungsoo’s face from his seat on the couch.

“No, thanks.”

“Okay, worst time you got shot down ? Or friend-zoned !” Chanyeol then shouts, voice covering Jongin silly giggles, only for a second before the dancer starts pointing at Sehun, laughing some more.

“Ah, there was this girl, in my dance class,” the youngest says with a dramatic sigh, sending Jongin in a new wave of drunken cackles, “Stop laughing, it’s not funny ! I liked her a lot, okay ?”

Of course, his words only earn the opposite effect, the rest of the boys joining Jongin in his hilarity.

“So what happened ?”

“I was trying to...investigate, to see if I had a chance, you know. And one day we were talking, and I asked if she had her eyes set on someone, and miracle, she told me she didn’t !” Sehun explain, trying to talk over Jongin’s unstoppable chuckling.

And really, Kyungsoo would like to listen to what Sehun has to say, but Jongin is now half draped on his shoulder, a large palm on the older’s forearm, hiding the delicate tattoo laying here. And with peppermint and vodka invading his nose as pastel pink hair brushes against his cheek, Kyungsoo can’t really be blamed for not focusing.

“So, since we were on a dance class, rehearsing for a show, I tried to be clever, you know !” Sehun continues, his voice faint in Kyungsoo’s ears.

His only silver lining is hoping Jongin is too busy laughing to notice how breathless he has become. Kyungsoo can barely see Baekhyun’s glance, or the small smile he offers him, too lost on the warmth Jongin is engulfing him with.

“So, I told her ‘ _Maybe I should come into the spotlight, then_ ’ !”

The hand on his arm gently glides down, closing around his fingers as Jongin keeps giggling, breath hot against Kyungsoo’s collarbone, until the older can’t tell anymore if his dizziness is caused by the alcohol he chucked down, or by the dancer’s overwhelming presence all around and against him.

“And then she said ‘ _No, really, you should stay backstage_ ’ !”

The roar of hilarity erupting from everyone in the room finally breaks the spell, and Kyungsoo comes back to reality as Jongin leans away, hitting Sehun’s upper arm as he laughs even harder, pitch going even higher.

“Wow, that stings !” Baekhyun worries, both hands squishing his cheeks.

“You have no idea !”

“No... But Soo does !” the oldest exclaims, pointing at Kyungsoo.

“Me ?” he asks, not even entirely sure what he is supposed to react to.

“Yeah, remember the guy from the bar ? The _tall_ one !”

“Oh god, please don’t,” he says, wincing as he shakes his head.

“Come on ! Okay I’ll tell them, then !” Baekhyun shrugs, “So, we were in a bar, and our dear Kyungsoo here was drunk _out of his mind_ ! And he saw that model-like dude at the counter. He was a fucking giant ! Taller than Chanyeol ! And obviously, Kyungsoo thought he stood a chance !”

“Uh oh,” Chanyeol snorts, earning a playful glare from Kyungsoo.

“The important factor is : I was _drunk_ , and he was an asshole !” he clarifies with a pout.

“What happened ?” Jongin then says, sounding clearly offended for him without even knowing what happened.

When Kyungsoo’s only answer is a devastated sigh, Baekhyun keeps going.

“Soo started flirting with him, and the dude _snorted_ , and told him to come back and try again in a few centimeters...”

“That’s so mean !” Jongin gasps as Sehun and Chanyeol booming laughter echoes in the living room.

“And Kyungsoo was so fucking drunk, he came to me and started tearing up on my shoulder,” Baekhyun adds, eyes closing as he cracks up too.

“You’re not that short, though !” Jongin says, squirming on the floor to face Kyungsoo. Then, putting his hand flat on the older’s hair, he brings it back towards himself, on a noticeable upslope, until his fingers reach the top of his own head, “See ? Same ! You’re the perfect height !” he states, looking proud of what he just did.

“And you’re drunk”, Kyungsoo chortles as the dancer’s hand keeps going back and forth to demonstrate they’re the same height.

“...Yeah, maybe,” Jongin nods, “But look ! Perfect height for me to put my arm around your shoulder !” he says, illustrating his words and making Kyungsoo’s heart miss a beat. Or a few.

“So what ? You’re planning on using me as a crutch ?” the older says, trying to sound as nonchalant as his intoxicated state is allowing him.

“Oh please !” Baekhyun interrupts them in a mocking voice, “You wouldn’t be able to hold him up for more than five seconds !”

“Wanna bet ?” Kyungsoo challenges him without thinking, before getting on his knees, then on his feet and turning around, “Hop up !” he orders Jongin.

“What ?”

“Hop up on my back !” he repeats, hand reaching behind him to grab the dancer’s wrist and pulling him up as the three others in the room starts laughing again.

If you ask him what the hell he was thinking, Kyungsoo wouldn’t know what to answer. He has no idea. But this is how he ends up carrying Jongin on his back, the younger fighting Sehun who somehow ended up getting a piggyback ride from Baekhyun too.

And feeling Jongin’s heartbeat through both their shirt as the younger firmly grips Sehun’s forearms and tries to make him fall, Kyungsoo can’t help but smile when Baekhyun winks at him and whispers a quiet “You’ll thank me later !”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a few links, for those interested by the songs mentioned in this chapter !  
> The Chainsmokers song, featuring a French singer :P (I’m legit in love with that song <3) & it WAS released in April 2017, so it WORKS for the plot timeline : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxljKS5rc7w  
> And Satellite’s song, which is one of my favorite non-kpop groups : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9txMrr3tpc
> 
> Tell me what you think about the chapter in the comment ?  
> Or find me on Twitter & CC : @Minty_Pixie


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING : Do you guys see the tags ? Those trigger warnings are here for a reason, and the last third of this chapter will definitely reinforce that. Now, please remember this is a piece of fiction, and although I’m trying to keep things realistic, this is NOT a lesson on how to handle such a situation, nor is it me saying this is the way everyone should feel. However, if you do find yourself in a situation where a person is making you feel uncomfortable in any way, please talk to someone, and seek help. Don’t let things escalate.

Kyungsoo has always praised himself for being good at assessing people’s mood and reacting accordingly. It’s even more true with people he has known for a while.

Which is why he’s so confused, on this Monday morning, as he takes notes about what the professor is talking about. He can’t, for the life of him, understand why Hyunsik, who is seated next to him, has been so grumpy during the whole class.

They haven’t seen each other since last Tuesday, but the afternoon had gone well, so he thought they were okay. But considering how his ex-boyfriend hasn’t said anything since his curt greeting, forty minutes earlier, and seeing the way his lips are pressed tight every time he briefly glances at Kyungsoo, it’s pretty obvious something is wrong. Except he has not a single clue about why Hyunsik could be mad at him for.

He wouldn’t normally be so bothered by it. After all, he _did_ try to stay away from the man as much as he could. But they still have to work together on that project, and that fucking report won’t write itself, nor will the song be magically composed if they can’t talk about it.  
And there’s no way in hell he will let whatever is upsetting his ex-boyfriend prevent him for getting a good grade.

So the moment the bell rings, and before Hyunsik has the time to bolt out of the classroom, Kyungsoo grabs his elbow.

“Hey, can we talk ?”

“About what ?” Hyunsik says, jaw tense as he pulls his arm out of Kyungsoo’s grip, not even looking at him.

“You’re mad at me,” Kyungsoo says, tone showing it isn’t a question and earning a scoff, “What’s wrong ?”

“Nothing’s wrong, I have to go.”

With a sigh, Kyungsoo snatches his backpack and marches after him, grabbing his arm again once they’re in the hallway.

“Look, we kinda need to work together,” he points out, releasing Hyunsik when the man tries to free himself, “So why don’t you just spit it out ?”

“You said you didn’t have time for that,” Hyunsik says, glaring at him, puzzling him even further.

“Huh ? Time for what ?”

“Forget it,” his ex spits, starting to walk away and forcing Kyungsoo to rush after him.

“Wait ! The hell are you talking about ?”

“You told me you didn’t have time to be in a relationship,” Hyunsik snaps, halting his steps suddenly and turning around to look at Kyungsoo, visibly angry now, “But clearly that was bullshit !”

“What ?”

“I hope you enjoyed your fucking date.”

“My-... Okay, _what the fuck_ are you talking about ?” Kyungsoo asks, voice raising as he gets more and more confused.

“Is that where you were before coming to my dorm to work on the project ?”

And this is when it clicks in Kyungsoo’s brain. The date. The _non-date_ date. With Jongin.

“How...”

“It is, right ? I can’t fucking believe it.”

“How on earth did you even...”

“It’s fucking everywhere on social medias,” Hyunsik retorts, borderline screaming, “D.O and Kim Kai on a coffee date ! There are pictures trending all around !”

“What the...” Kyungsoo starts, before what Baekhyun said comes back in his mind. _Fuck_. He sighs, closing his eyes for a second, before looking back at Hyunsik, “Okay, let me get things clear, right now. First, that was _not_ a date. And second, even if it was, it’s really none of your business ! We talked about this already !”

“But-“

“No but’s ! You and me, together, it won’t happen,” he says, crossing his arms to make an X, just to be sure Hyunsik freaking _gets it_ , “So you can stop with your misplaced jealousy.”

“...You’re really not with him ?”

“That’s not the point !!!” Kyungsoo bursts out, before he takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself when he sees students eyeing them weirdly, “Listen, we had this conversation already. Why do you keep insisting, when you _promised_ you would stop ?!”

“Because-...” Hyunsik starts, before sighing too and looking away, “You know what, never mind. Sorry, I shouldn’t have-...” he tries, leaving his words hanging.

“It’s okay,” Kyungsoo eventually replies tiredly, repeating to himself he needs to make things work for the sake of their project, “You wanna work on the song tonight after class ? I’m free after 4pm.”

“No, I have something planned already,” his ex-boyfriend says, shaking his head but still not making eye contact.

“Alright, some other time in the week, then ?” Kyungsoo tries, now feeling a little bit guilty to see Hyunsik looking hurt.

“Yeah... I have to go, I don’t wanna be late.”

Before Kyungsoo has even the chance to nod, Hyunsik has already turned around and started walking away. After ruffling his hair with a grunt, Kyungsoo ends up having to power-walk his way to his next class. He’ll have to assess the damage on social medias later. And maybe punch Baekhyun for not telling him clearly.

And talk to Jongin about it. If he manages to grow some balls.

  
♪♫

  
By the next morning, Kyungsoo has come up with twelve different ideas of how he could kill his best friend. Most of them include different kinds of torture, in order of making Baekhyun suffer as much as he can for an agonizingly long time.

When he arrived home the previous night, he finally checked Instagram and Twitter, but nothing had prepared him for what was going on.

Several pictures of him and Jongin at the café were indeed getting reposted by more people than he could count, with threads of comments both thrilled and pissed off. But Kyungsoo didn’t even bother reading more than a dozen when he saw _something else_.

Something else that led him to send a very angry text to Baekhyun, who, in turn, only replied with a playful “Hehe” and a fucking _heart emoji_.

There, trending all over social medias, was another picture of Jongin and Kyungsoo. A picture Baekhyun had taken during his birthday party and posted a few hours prior to Kyungsoo finding out. A picture from when he had asked the two of them to pose for the camera. And Sehun had found very funny to vigorously shove a plastered Jongin against an equally hammered Kyungsoo right as Baekhyun took the photo, forcing the older to wrap his arms around Jongin’s waist as they almost lost their balance. Jongin had managed to stabilize himself with both his hands on Kyungsoo’s shoulders as their chests collided, and it was a relief they didn’t fall. But it had resulted in a picture where they look like they were hugging while Jongin was whispering something in his ear.

Drunk as he was, Kyungsoo hadn’t thought much of it. He had also been way too flustered to do anything else but awkwardly laugh and step back, before grabbing his beer and gulping half of it in one go.

He should’ve known. He should’ve fucking known Baekhyun wouldn’t let that picture be forgotten in a lost folder of his phone’s gallery.

When Kyungsoo had checked on Baekhyun Instagram account, he had found out his best friend had only captioned the picture with a bunch of starry-eyed emojis and tagging them both. And the people were going absolutely _crazy_ in the comments.

Even _Sehun_ had left one !

 **  
ohsehun.official** _Hyuuung people are gonna drag you for this omg_

 **bunnybyunbaek** @ohsehun.official _Let them ! I weight more than they can carry *sassy finger snap*_

 **kimkai.s_wife** _OMFG ARE THEY DATING?????????_

 **sunny_dy0** _WHAT IS HAPPENING??????? 0.0_

 **puffyslime** _did I miss something ? holy shit they’re together ?!!_

 **diy4every1** _guys pls check my IG I do DIY stuff it’s cool._

 **warmonica** _WTF DYO IS MINE_

 **unique.rider** _wut am I even looking at………_

 **kainini** _they’re a couple. I don’t care what y’all say. Fight me. I love them._

 **x.freakai.x** _Ok but when did this even happened ??_

 **ecstazygiggle** _PHOTOSHOP ?????????????_

 **lolazitta** _I NEED AN EXPLANATION_ @melod.ous  @kimkaaaaaai _PLS EXPLAIN_

 **candycandle** _KADI IS FUCKING REAL AND I’M FUCKING DEAD_

 **purrfect_kai** @melod.ous _STAY AWAY FROM KAI OPPA_

 **tsumtsumqueen** _They. Are. So. Dating. /passes out/_

 **yell0w_fl0wer** _I shiiiiiiiiiip theeeeeeeeeeeeeem so muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch_

 **glamorries** _MZOIERNVFIRUVOCZPEmo;eâpZMQIBSURIZEC?RPZECMIRJNZ_

 

“I mean, there were already pictures of you two going around since your little date,” Baekhyun says as they walk together to the cafeteria, “People needed confirmation ! I just gave them what they wanted !”

“You’re a fucking pain in the ass...”

“Hey, your ass hasn’t been in pain for a while,” the older jokingly replies with a shrug.

“I really don’t know why I’m friends with you.”

“Cause you love me ? Come on, stop being so dramatic !”

“Did you even _read_ the comments ?” Kyungsoo asks in a loud voice.

“Fuck yeah !” Baekhyun laughs, slapping Kyungsoo’s forearm, “It’s not _that_ bad, I don’t know why you’re reacting like this...”

“It’s not just about me, Baek ! Did you think about Jongin ?”

“Sehun approved me posting the photo. I asked him before.”

“What ?!” Kyungsoo gasps, halting his steps before releasing a sigh, “Seriously, you two need to step the fuck down.”

“And poultry-boy and you need to step the fuck _up_ !” Baekhyun chortles, pushing his shoulder, “It’s painful to watch, you know ?”

“Fuck you.”

“No thanks. But I’m sure he’ll happily let you bang him, though !”

“Baek... It’s not funny...”

“You’re the one making it not funny,” Baekhyun retorts as if he was just sating a fact, “You’re way too serious. Just let him dick you, that should help you loosen up a bit !” he ends, laughing again, clearly proud of his pun.

“Okay, that’s it. I’m canceling our friendship.”

“Eyy, come on, you can’t do that !” the older chuckles once more, circling Kyungsoo’s shoulders with his arm and starting to walk again, “What would I do without you ?” he then adds with a mischievous grin.

“You’d probably be trying to survive in jail.”

“Exactly ! See ? You can’t leave me ! And you need me too !” he singsongs, earning a snort from Kyungsoo.

“What I need is for you and Sehun to stop playing cupids !”

“Can’t do, sorry ! Plus, I’d look fabulous with angel wings !”

“Not sure I wanna see you wearing only a diaper, though,” Kyungsoo says, finally letting out a smile.

“You’ve seen me naked, Soo.”

“Not because I wanted to !”

“You still liked it...” the older whispers in his ear after pulling him closer.

“Fuck off !” Kyungsoo laughs, pushing Baekhyun away from him.

“You want me to apologize to the nugget ?”

“God, no. You’d probably make things worse.”

“You have so little faith in me, it’s worrying !”

“Ask yourself _why_ !”

“Would you really replace me so easily, though ?” his best friend asks after a silence and Kyungsoo loudly sighs.

“Nah, don’t worry,” he says with a little pat on Baekhyun’s stomach, “I’d still choose you as my best friend any day. And twice on Sundays... But you’re still fucking annoying,” he ends dramatically, shaking his head but unable to hide his grin.

“Yeah, but that’s exactly why you wouldn’t swap me for something else !”

And unfortunately for Kyungsoo, Baekhyun isn’t entirely wrong.

  
♪♫

  
\--------------Wednesday, May 10th--------------  
08:53pm

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Hyung you there ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _yes !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _what’s up ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Do you know why Baekhyun hyung is sending me gifs of baby animals with SORRY written on the image ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Cause I’ve received like...at least 20 in the last hour and I’m just ??????_

 **  
** Of course. Of course Baekhyun would do it even though Kyungsoo told him not to. And knowing his best friend, he purposefully didn’t give any explanation because he _knew_ Jongin would then probably ask _Kyungsoo_. That guy was too clever. And now he has to bring the topic up even if he has no idea what he is supposed to say.

  
**Kyungsoo  
**_ugh_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’m sorry_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _??_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I kinda scolded him_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _What ? Why ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _the picture ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _the one he took at the party_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Yeah ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _What about it o.O ?_

  
There is no way Jongin doesn’t know about it. They have both been tagged by so many accounts who reposted the pictures, as well as in thousands of comments. He is bound to know, right ?  
So why does he seem so confused ?

  
**Kyungsoo  
**_he...posted it on IG ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _didn’t you see ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _there’re also pics of us at the café :/_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Yeah I know_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I saw_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _...well that’s why I scolded him_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _But why o.O ?_

  
Now Kyungsoo is the confused one.

  
**Kyungsoo  
**_doesn’t it...bother you ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Bother me ? Why would it bother me ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _..._

 **Kyungsoo  
** _the thing people are saying in the comments_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Yeah I saw that too xD_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _So many caps lock xD it was funny !_

  
What. The. Fuck ?

  
**NiniPoodle  
**_So why did you scold him ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I just told him he shouldn’t have posted that pic_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _..._

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Hyung_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Did those comments bothered /you/ ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Were you annoyed people said all those things about us ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _what ? no that’s not what I meant !!!!!!_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Then what did you mean :/ ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I just...I don’t know ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I thought it would annoy you ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Okay but we’ve just established it didn’t_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _yeah_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _So ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _so ? so what ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Idk, you tell me !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _so...I’m not annoyed either ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Is it a question ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _no._

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’m not annoyed either._

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Good ^-^ !_

  
That couldn’t mean what Kyungsoo wanted it to mean, right ? It couldn’t...

  
**NiniPoodle  
**_Don’t worry, okay ? It’ll pass_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _For a while people thought I was dating Taemin since he is in quite a lot of my Instagram videos_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I think some also think I’m dating Sehun x’D_

  
Of course it didn’t.  
Kyungsoo sighs as he stares at his phone, wondering what is even left to say, at this point. Jongin wasn’t bothered by those comments because he wasn’t interested and only saw him as a friend. Just like Sehun and that Taemin guy.

  
**Kyungsoo  
**_yeah I guess it’ll calm down in a few days_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _^-^_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Baekhyun hyung just invited me for Friday night at your place xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _of course he did_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _You okay ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _yeah_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you gonna come ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Do you want me to :P ?_

  
Sighing once more, Kyungsoo swiftly types on his phone, mood completely dampened, despite the prospect of seeing Jongin in two days. Or maybe exactly because of that.

  
**Kyungsoo  
**_of course_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you’re always welcomed_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _:DDDD_

  
And the last thing Kyungsoo does before falling asleep, later that night, is rolling his eyes.

From : **Annoying Bunny**  
01:06am-  
_You’re gonna love me. But you won’t see it right away. So wait just a bit before killing me, okay ? At least til Monday ! Goodnight~ <3_

  
♪♫

  
Kyungsoo has noticed a pattern during the course of these last few days. At least three times a day, he realizes how much he fucking _hates_ his best friend.

It all started because of that damn photo. Once when he saw it on Instagram.  Once when Baekhyun _laughed_ about it. Once when he received that text, even if he still has no idea what it was about. Then he found out Baekhyun had done exactly what Kyungsoo asked him _not_ to do and weirdly apologized to Jongin. And he also discovered his best friend had set the cursed picture as his phone’s lockscreen.

The let’s-hate-Baekhyun thought also appeared when he noticed the lock on his building’s front door was broken and not doing its job anymore. He was annoyed when he had to call the concierge service to let them know, so they would have someone come and fix it. All this had nothing to do with Baekhyun, but you can’t break a pattern, it’s bad luck.

So he didn’t break it. And the older had helped him keeping it going. Around 10am, Kyungsoo received a few notifications from their Kakaotalk group chat – where Baekhyun had added Jongin and Sehun at some point – and his dear best friend started taking about how well Kyungsoo could cook. Everyone was supposed to be in the middle of a class at that moment, so Kyungsoo isn’t sure how or why they all replied excitedly. But suddenly, without knowing how it happened, he was asked – read : ordered – to cook for their little gathering. Baekhyun’s fault.

Five hours later, as he was coming out of the grocery store, he cursed his best friend once more. Because getting food ready for six persons on his own was gonna be a mess. And the bags were heavy. Baekhyun’s fault.

And now, Kyungsoo is just waiting for everyone to arrive to find out what will be the third time that thought pops into his mind, today.

Surprisingly, Jongin is the first to show up.

He is late, because he apparently had to come directly from his school, and Sehun had texted him they’d meet at Kyungsoo’s place. But it is still a bit weird, since he is the one coming from the farthest place in town.

“Where are the others ? I thought I was late,” the dancer says, looking puzzled as he takes off his sneakers, heavy duffle bag swinging on his shoulder.

His hair is still wet, proof that he must have rushed to his dorm right after class, taken a speed-shower and run to come right after, without taking the time to dry it properly.

“I’m not sure... I don’t even know if Junmyeon is giving everyone a ride or if they’re coming separa-”

Flinching when his phone goes off in his pocket, one, two, three, four times in a row, he grabs the device and unlock it, pausing for a few second when Jongin’s phone chimes too.

 

From : **Annoying Bunny**  
08:27pm-  
_Sorry Soo, something came up, can’t come tonight ! Have fun~ !_

  
From : **Park Sharkyeol**  
08:27pm-  
_Sorry, can’t be there tonight, something came up ! Have fun anyway !_

 _  
_ From : **DinoDae**  
08:27pm-  
_Sorry Kyungsoo, can’t be there tonight, something came up ! Have fun !_

  
From : **Oompa-Loompa Hyung**  
08:27pm-  
_I’m sorry Kyungsoo, I won’t be able to make it tonight. Something I need to take care of came up. But I hope you’ll enjoy your evening !_

What the fuck ?

“Sehun says he can’t make it,” Jongin says, looking up at him from his own phone, “Apparently something came up.”

There it is. The third time. Never break a pattern.

“Congratulation to us, we just got ditched,” Kyungsoo snorts, turning his phone so Jongin can see the four similar notifications.

“Oh… Wow... They planned this, didn’t they ?

“Yeah, probably...”

“Do you know...why ?”

_Yes._

“Who knows what goes inside Baekhyun’s head ?” he shrugs, scratching behind his ear.

“So...uhm...”

Kyungsoo can clearly see Jongin is a bit taken aback. He is too, he wasn’t exactly planning on being _alone_ with _Jongin_ in his _own apartment_. _At night_. When he _cooked._  
Byun fucking Baekhyun and his stupid fucking plans.

“I hope you’re hungry,” he eventually sighs when he sees Jongin’s expression growing uncomfortable as he slowly settles his bag on the floor, “We were supposed to be six, so I made a _lot_ of food,” he explains, smiling when Jongin finally seems more at ease, grinning back.

“I danced all day ! I could eat a lot !”

“Good, come on,” he nods, walking back into the living room, the younger on his heels, where they sit on the floor on opposite side of the small coffee table, where several dishes are laid.

  
“By the way, how is your back ?” Kyungsoo asks a bit later, chewing on the garlic butter shrimp he picked up under the rice in his plate.

“Ah, it’s fine, now !” Jongin smiles, his eyes getting squeezed adorably.

“Did you rest like you promised ?” the older then questions, trying to sound nonchalant.

Jongin seems to always have teeny tiny bits of food getting stuck on the corner of his lips when he eats, and it’s highly distracting. Kyungsoo wants to wipe that half grain of rice. With his own lips.  
That’s not good.

“Kinda ?” the dancer says, before subtly clearing his throat, “I didn’t really had time... But I’m used to it, it’s fine,” he confesses, loading his mouth with rice and a small shrimp.

“Used to it ?”

“Mmh, it’s been acting up for years now. I learned to deal with it.”

“You shouldn’t have to...” Kyungsoo says, eyebrows knitted together, “Did you even see a doctor ?”

“I don’t really need too, I know how-” he starts, a little cough cutting him.

“You okay ?”

“Yeah, sorry, got down in the wrong pipe,” Jongin chuckles, gulping on some water and tapping his fist against his sternum, “So, yeah, I know how to handle the pain. It just got a bit more intense with...the preparation for midterms,” he ends after pausing to clear his throat again.

“What would you have to do for it to completely heal ?”

“Stop dancing altogether, I guess.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah, not gonna happen anytime soon,” Jongin states as a fact, before licking his lips insistently, making Kyungsoo frown again.

“Is something wrong with the food ?” he asks, glancing at his own plate, now half empty, “Did I put too much pepper in it ?”

“No ! No, no, it’s good ! I like pepper !” the dancer hastily says, shaking his head, “What about you ?”

“Me ? I like pepper too…”

“No,” the younger laughs, “Sorry, I meant, do you get hurt when you play instruments ?”

“Oh... Not really ? I get finger cramps, at most, if I play for too long,” Kyungsoo says, knowing it sounds ridiculous, “Nothing comparable to the kind of injuries dancers get.”

“Right, you experienced that during winter break !”

“Oh god, don’t remind me ! By the end of the first week, I thought I’d never be able to stand on my feet again !”

Probably remembering how much Kyungsoo had complained about it, Jongin bursts out laughing, only to be stopped by more serious a coughing fit. Instantly, Kyungsoo is pouring more water in his glass and pushing it in the younger’s hand.

“Are you sick ? Did you catch a cold ?” he worries, watching the dancer intensely as he gulps down the entire glass, “Why didn’t you dry your hair before coming here !”

“I’m not...sick, Hyung. I’m...I’m fine !” Jongin answers, still coughing a little between words, “I wouldn’t have...fallen sick _that_ fast,” he adds, blinking away the stray tears pooling in his eyes.

“Are you sure ?”

“Yeah ! I’m good !” he reassures the older once more, “So, finger cramps ?”

“Mmh. I guess the worse that could happen is not playing guitar for a few months and then having to rebuild my calluses...”

“Your what ?”

“It’s when the skin on your fingertips hardens,” he explains, “It’s a short but pretty painful process actually.”

“Really ?”

“Yeah, you get bruises on your fingertips, and then the skin is peeling off. And the more you press on those strings, the more it hurts,” he laughs, wincing at the memory.

“That doesn’t sound pleasant…”

“It’s not,” he laughs, “But after a month of daily practice, you have those calluses and the pain is gone ! Wait, listen,” he says, before starting to tap the wooden table with his fingertips, the noise sharper than it would be with the fingers of his right hand.

He lets out a smile when Jongin’s eyes open wide, grin even larger when Jongin taps his own fingertips against the table to compare.

“That’s so weird !” he exclaims, “Can I see ?”

Reaching out, Kyungsoo’s breathing falters for a second when Jongin’s hands close around his palm, thumb lightly pressing against the older’s fingertips. It feels way more intimate than it should be, considering the situation and the topic they’re conversing about. When Jongin is done with his little inspection, Kyungsoo brings back his hand on his side of the table and quickly stuffs his mouth with rice, eyes glued on his plate, hoping Jongin won’t notice he is blushing.

A stifled cough makes him however look up, only to find Jongin pressing the back of his hand against his lips, eyes scrunched closed.

“Jongin ?”

“Mmh ?”

The voice is hoarse, even through the small humming.

“Okay, that’s it. What’s wrong ?”

“Nothing ! I’m fi-”

Coughing yet again, a little more violently this time, Jongin keeps thumping his fist against his sternum.

“You’re not fine ! Tell me what’s wrong ! ”

“It’s nothing !” the younger replies, but then starts coughing again.

“Jongin...” Kyungsoo says in a low voice, and his tone must be menacing enough for Jongin to _finally_ spill the beans.

“I’m just...” he starts, voice cracking before sighing, “I might be a little bit allergic to shrimps...”

“Might be ?”

“Am. Am allergic to shrimps.”

“Oh my god, Jongin !!! Why didn’t you tell me earlier ?!!” Kyungsoo panics, eyes opening wide, “Do you have an EpiPen ?! Why did you eat it ?!!!”

Not really knowing what to do, Kyungsoo awkwardly gets on his knees, staring at the dancer worryingly.

“Because I’m sure it took you a long time to cook that dish !” Jongin says, coughing _again_ and licking his lips _again_. They do look kinda swollen, now that Kyungsoo doesn’t avoid looking at them anymore, “I have to eat it !”

“Not if it can kill you !! Are you crazy ?!”

“It won’t kill me,” Jongin croaks with a raspy chuckle, “And it tastes really good !” he adds, swiftly bringing a full spoon inside his mouth, sending Kyungsoo into panic mode instantly.

“Stop eating !!!!” he shouts, clumsily crawling to Jongin’s side as fast as he can and taking the plate away and out of reach when the younger tries to grab it.

“Give it back !” Jongin giggles.

“No ! Stop !” the older yells, extending the arm holding the dish as far as he can when Jongin shuffles and gets on his knees to reach for the plate, “Jongin, stop !”

“But you cooked for me !”

“You’re not finishing it ! I said _stop_ !” he repeats even louder when Jongin keeps trying, now laughing as Kyungsoo pushes his face away with a palm on his forehead.

“But I’m still hungry !”

“I made a dessert !”

“You did ?” Jongin asks, husky voice cracking as he finally, _finally_ stop trying to reach the goddamn plate.

“Yes. You’re not allergic to apple pies or vanilla ice cream, are you ?” he questions, tone a tad desperate.

“Nope !”

“Good. Don’t move. At all,” he orders as he stands up, snatching his own plate off the table when he sees Jongin eyeing it, “I’ll be right back.”

  
♪♫

  
“I should go,” Jongin says, about two hours later, sitting straighter on the couch, where they’ve been watching random stuff on tv, “I’m crashing at Sehun’s again and I’m still not very familiar with the route from here to K-arts’ dorms.

“Yeah, no, that’s not happening.”

“What ?”

“You’re not going anywhere. I’m gonna keep an eye on you until I’m sure you’re okay,” Kyungsoo says in a definite tone, “You fucking ate almost a full plate of food that could kill you. So, no, you’re not going anywhere,” he repeats, keeping his eyes on the television screen.

“But it’s late already,” Jongin counters, looking hesitant, “The last bus is gonna leave soon. You don’t want me to spend the night here, do you ?” he then asks, earning a scoff from Kyungsoo.

“I’m not giving the choice,” he says, shaking his head, “I’d rather not hear on the news that they found your dead body in the streets.”

“I’m not gonna die, Hyung...”

“No, you won’t. Not on my watch. Which is why you’re staying here. This is non-negotiable.”

“But-”

“No. You have your bag with a change of clothes anyway. So you’re staying, period.”

“...Fine,” Jongin finally agrees, plopping back against the backrest.

Kyungsoo pretends not to see the little smile on the younger’s lips and gets up.

“I need to take a shower, though... Didn’t have time before, since I had to cook... Maybe we can...watch a movie or something, after ?””

“Okay !” Jongin nods, “Do you want me to do the dishes in the meantime ?”

“No ! You stay here. I don’t want you to fucking drop dead !”

“Again, I’m _not_ gonna die !” Jongin laughs, and Kyungsoo gets a bit reassures when the dancer doesn’t cough right after.

He doesn’t really look better, but at least it doesn’t seem to get worse either.

“Not gonna risk it,” he says anyway with a pointed look, “Just...open Netflix and choose a movie,” he finishes, grabbing the remote and dropping it on Jongin’s lap.

“Fine.”

“I’ll be quick.”

“It’s okay, take your time !”

  
Kyungsoo does _not_ take his time. He’s still worried he might come back in the living room and find Jongin lying on the floor, so he washes up as fast as he can, while cursing himself for listening to Baekhyun when he asked him to cook that specific dish. He knows his best friend was most likely not aware of Jongin’s allergy. He might be irresponsible sometimes, but not crazy enough to actually risk someone’s life on purpose. But Kyungsoo feels so guilty that he’s willing to share the responsibility of almost killing Jongin. And Baekhyun seems like the perfect target. Never break a pattern, right ?

It doesn’t matter that the younger tried to reassure him. Kyungsoo saw the hives on his neck, running along his collarbones and further down under the collar of his sweater. Jongin can say whatever he wants, Kyungsoo is still worried.

Less than ten minutes later, he is entering the living room, rubbing a towel on his wet hair, and discretely sighs in relief when he sees Jongin focused on the tv screen as he scrolls down the list of movies.

“Hey.”

“Hey ! See, I’m alive !” the dancer joyfully says, tongue poking out of his still swollen lips.

“Yeah, I’m still keeping an eye on you...”

“Okay,” he chuckles, before looking back at the television, “Hey, Hyung ?”

“Mmh ?”

“Who’s Hyunsik ?” Jongin asks, sounding suddenly really nonchalant just as Kyungsoo sits down next to him.

“What ?”

“Uhm... Your phone was tinging non-stop with texts...from someone named Hyunsik,” the younger says, stopping for a second to clear his still raspy voice.

“He’s...the classmate I’m doing that project with,” Kyungsoo answers, figuring out Jongin must have seen the name flashing with every notification.

“...A classmate you dated ?”

“What ?!”

“Uhm...one of the text mentioned a date...”

“You read them ?!”

“No ! I mean, not all of them ?” Jongin winces, looking at anything but Kyungsoo, “I mean, they kept coming, one after the other. I just thought it might be important...or urgent. I just took a quick look, since the notifications show a preview… But just to see if I needed to get you !”

Kyungsoo knows this was done with good intention, and he isn’t mad at Jongin for peeking. But knowing he saw _Hyunsik_ texts makes his stomach twist uncomfortably.

“It’s okay,” he eventually says with a sigh.

“So...”

“Mmh ?”

“So...you dated him ?” Jongin asks, sounding way less casual by now, and Kyungsoo sighs again.

Who would wanna talk about their ex-lover with their crush, really ?

“Yeah, back in high school. We met again not long ago, when he transferred to K-arts.”

“What ?!” Jongin exclaims, making the older flinch, “Wait… Hyunsik...as in _Im Hyunsik_ ?!!” he asks, eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.

“Ah, right...he was in your school, before coming here... Do you know him ?”

“Not personally... Everyone just knows he’s the school president’s grandson...” Jongin says, eyebrows furrowing, “You dated him ?”

“Yeah...” Kyungsoo carefully nods. The dancer looks rattled enough for Kyungsoo not to know what else to say about it, so he simply turns back to face the television, “Did you choose a movie ?”

“Mmh ? Ah, uhm...yeah...”

 

Apparently, Jongin never managed to watch _The Day after Tomorrow_ until the end, always falling asleep through it the few times he tried. Kyungsoo has already seen it with his brother, back when it was in theaters in 2004, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s not as if he is focusing anyway.  
He keeps throwing subtle glances at Jongin, eyeing his neck and his lips, the only visible sign his allergic reaction is still not getting better. And he keeps thinking about the younger’s expression when he found out Kyungsoo dated Hyunsik. It was _weird_. He looked upset. Which doesn’t make much sense, since he clearly said he doesn’t even know the guy in person. So why would he have anything against Hyunsik ? It could be an old grudge, not against the man itself, but his privileged position as the school president’s grandchild, but Kyungsoo has some difficulty to think Jongin, out of all person, could react like that.

All in all, it confuses him and leaves him wondering, deep in thoughts. Enough for him to twitch when Jongin speaks, coarse voice barely covering the movie’s dialogues.

“Why did you break up ?”

“What ?”

“You and Hyunsik sunbae... Why did you break up ?”

“It’s...kind of a long story,” Kyungsoo says, “Don’t you...wanna watch the movie ?”

“No, not really,” Jongin answers, turning his head away from the screen to look at the older.

“I… I’m the one who broke up with him,” the older starts with a sigh, because Jongin doesn’t look like he’s gonna give up, “We dated during most of our senior year, but then I just... I don’t know...”

“Fell out of love ?” Jongin suggests, tilting his head cutely, earning a jaded chuckle.

“I don’t think I was _that_ much in love with him, to be honest. I mean it was nice while it lasted but I just... I was gonna move out to study at K-arts, and even though we were both coming to Seoul, we weren’t gonna be in the same school anymore,” Kyungsoo explains, “I think I just wanted to give myself the chance of reaching my dream...without anything burdening me, or holding me back... I know it sounds really mean,” he adds, wincing, “And it is. I broke up with him in a _text message_.”

“Oh, that’s...”

“Horrible, I know,” Kyungsoo nods, scrunching his nose when he sees Jongin’s bothered expression, “But back then, I didn’t care. He was clingy and really annoying, and all I was thinking about was getting rid of him... God, I was an asshole,” he adds with another self-deprecating laugh.

“No !” Jongin protests, before coughing a little, “I mean...it might’ve not been the best way of ending things, but...I can understand.”

Scoffing, Kyungsoo shakes his head. Jongin is too nice for this world. Way too nice for _Kyungsoo_.

 “Well, he didn’t,” the older continues, “After graduation, he kept sending me texts, kept calling me, leaving me vocal messages, dozens of times every day. Kept trying to reach out to me, asking me what was wrong. I never replied, but he didn’t stop.”

“For how long ?”

“Months... It was seriously annoying me, so I decided to get a new phone number. I know, that was kinda mean, too,” he quickly adds.

“Not really,” Jongin shrugs.

“I could’ve just _replied_. And _explained_ to him. But I didn’t. I just...”

“Moved on.”

“Shut him out,” Kyungsoo corrects.

“I mean, from what you said, it was borderline harassment...”

“Yeah, but still... I should’ve handled things differently.”

“Hyung, you were _nineteen_ !” Jongin points out with a pressing look, “You said it yourself, you just wanted to follow your dream ! I don’t think that makes you a bad person...”

“No, just a person who makes really bad choices...”

“We all make bad choices at some point. Everyone messes up. He did too ! I mean, he should’ve gotten the hint,” Jongin says with a frown, “But as long as you try to do better the next time, you shouldn’t beat yourself down for being _human_.”

“Well, you just proved my point,” Kyungsoo snorts.

“Mmh ?”

“When he transferred here, I had the opportunity to _do better_... And I threw that away. I ignored him completely,  and pushed him away _again_ whenever he tried to talk to me...”

“Yeah but...isn’t it also a little bit his fault for still not getting it ?” the younger shrugs, scratching one of the red patches on his neck.

“I think it kinda made him snap,” Kyungsoo then says, eyebrows knitted together, “Don’t touch it,” he abstractedly adds, pushing Jongin’s hand down.

“Snap ?”

“Do you remember the first time we saw each other ?”

“Yeah,” Jongin nods, not even trying to hide his amused laugh, “I was so shocked when I saw you appear in front of me out of nowhere. One second you were in the air, mid-jump, and then you just fell...”

“Well, Karma just needed to get its job done. I had been an asshole to you too...” Kyungsoo smirks, pausing for a second to watch Jongin roll his eyes and grin back at him, “You might remember I was kinda running away...from someone.”

“Yeah ?”

“I was him. I was running away from Hyunsik.”

“What ? Why ?”

“I guess he really wasn’t okay with me ignoring him,” Kyungsoo states with another shrug, “He became a lot more...insistent. Following me everywhere, all the time. And after what happened at my birthday party, I _really_ didn’t want to see him,” he scowls, before realizing it might’ve been a bad idea to bring that up.

“What happened ?”

“He...” Kyungsoo starts, sighing at the prospect of explaining that mess to Jongin, “He showed up uninvited, and-... Well, not really uninvited. Eunji actually told him to come, but anyway. I was so pissed when I saw him there, I ended up drinking a whole lot more than I should have,” he admits, earning a pronounced frown from the dancer, “I was completely wasted, and he kinda...cornered me in the kitchen and...he kissed me...”

“I’m sorry, _what_ ?!”

“I tried to push him away,” the older continues quickly, “But...well, I wasn’t exactly the most coordinate at that moment. Thankfully, my brother popped up and saved the day,” he says with an awkward chuckle that stops right when he sees Jongin’s serious expression.

“Hyung... It’s not funny...”

“I know, sorry.”

“Why are you even apologizing ? This is so not okay !”

“I _know_. That’s why I was running away when you saw me ! You saved me too, actually,” he says with a tentative smile, before swallowing it when Jongin’s face turn severe, “But it’s fine, now !”

“How could it be fine ?!”

“We had a conversation,” he explains hastily, a little thrown off by the dancer’s vehement protests, “We’re on speaking terms, now.”

“Excuse me ?!!!” Jongin gasps loudly, eyes wide open.

“Well, it’s easier to work on a project together if we can actually _talk_ to each oth-”

“Hyung, what the hell ?!!!!” Jongin shouts, cutting Kyungsoo who jumps at the explosion, “Why are you... How... What the actual fuck ?!!!!”

“Uhm...”

“Hyung, what he did... He fucking forced himself onto you !!!” Jongin boils, “And now you’re on fucking _speaking term_ ?!!! Please, tell me you’re joking !!!!”

“Uhm...no ?” Kyungsoo risks, now completely stunned by the younger’s fuming reaction.

“Hyung !!!”

“What ?”

“I... You...” Jongin stutters, shaking his head with a distressed look on his face, before he takes a deep breath, releasing a long and loud sigh.

“Jongin ?”

“Okay, look... I... I usually don’t talk about it because it doesn’t bring back very nice memories, but...”

“But what ?” Kyungsoo asks, confusion turning into worry at the sight of the pain in Jongin’s eyes.

“You need to hear this. You need to _understand_ that everything about this is so, _so_ wrong.”

“O...kay ? What is it ?” the older hesitates, not sure he wanna know, if it makes Jongin look so hurt.

“I... I think told you once, about a problem I had at my school… I said it was a “ _stalker_ ” issue,” Jongin starts, emphasizing his word with air-quotes.

“Yeah, I remember,” Kyungsoo nods tentatively, “You said that was why you keep it low when you come to visit Sehun at K-arts, right ?”

“Right... Well, it wasn’t exactly _stalking_. Kind of... A bit...at some point… But not really ?”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Kyungsoo quickly says when he sees Jongin’s mode than evident uneasiness, “You don’t have to tell me about it if you’re not comfortable...”

“No, it’s not-... I’m not-…” Jongin shakes his head before sighing yet again, “There was... There was a girl in my school. Her name’s Yunhee, we were both majoring in Dance.”

Falling silent, Kyungsoo nods, noticing the use of the past tense.

“We weren’t in every class together, since the school divides us in three groups because of the number of students,” Jongin continues, looking down at his hands as his thumb’s nail scratches his palm, “But we still had _some_ classes together. Including Pilates...and Sports Massage, where you basically learn how to tend to injuries you get, when you dance as much as we do.”

“That’s what you tried to teach me over the phone, right ?” Kyungsoo slips in an attempt to get Jongin to smile, not liking to see him so agitated.

“Yeah...” the younger answers with an unconvincing grin that falls down a second later, “I met her in first year, a week after class started. I sat down next to her cause there was no other seat available... And out of the blue, she told me she thought she had seen me somewhere. And you know, I had just moved to Seoul, but I used to have a YouTube channel before. And in my hometown, I sometimes got some ‘ _Oh my god, it’s you, I know you, Oh my god !_ ’. So when I heard her, I was lowkey getting ready for that. I think I was a bit pretentious, back then, thinking people in _Seoul_ would know who I was,” Jongin ends with a disenchanted chuckle.

“I’m sure some people did know you,” Kyungsoo says, wanting to cheer him up.

“Maybe... Anyway, I was waiting for it, but then she said ‘ _I know ! You’re Taemin’s friend !_ ’,” Jongin explains, using a higher voice in a bad imitation of a girl that makes him cough for a few seconds, “And you know, Taemin _was_ a very good friend. Still is, despite the whole Jongin-Krystal-Taemin drama we had later on,” he adds and Kyungsoo tries not to look openly bothered at the mention of _The_ ex-girlfriend, “Taemin and I were in high school _and_ in a dance club together, and we both got in SeoulArt. And, I mean, he’s cool, so I thought, if she is Taemin’s friend, then she must be nice.”

In Jongin’s voice, Kyungsoo can hear the sincerity of this words, but he can also assume without a doubt that things were only gonna go downward, from this point.

“And for a few weeks, every _was_ nice,” the younger says, the emphasis confirming Kyungsoo’s assumptions, “And since we were getting along, we often paired up during exercises. But then...like a month into the semester, things got...weird,” he says, frown deepening, “She was really...touchy, during classes. Like, once, we were learning how to properly strap a knee if we had a sprain. And to really understand, the teach made us do it on each other before trying on ourselves. But...when she was rolling the bandage around my knee, her hand was grazing behind it in a really weird way. And then she started brushing the inside of my thigh and...yeah, it was _weird_ ,” he breathes out, lips tight.

Kyungsoo stays silent, stomach twitching in discomfort as he tries imagining how uncomfortable Jongin must’ve felt.

“But I didn’t say anything,” the dancer continues, “Cause I just thought she was being _really_ diligent, you know...”

“Yeah…”

“Another time, too, around a week later, during Pilates class... We were doing some exercises that required to engage your pelvic floor and your perineal center. It’s uhm...”

“I know, don’t worry,” Kyungsoo quickly assures when he sees Jongin looking down towards his own crotch with a nervous face.

He remembers the anatomy diagram Sehun had shown him about it during one of their practices, and still wishes he could unsee it.

“Okay... So uhm, we were doing that, and we paired up that time too. To monitor each other, since the teacher can’t be everywhere all at once, you know. So, I was lying on the floor, doing the exercise, and she placed her hand against my lower stomach, like the teacher said. But it was... _too low_ ,” Jongin winces, briefly glancing at Kyungsoo before looking back down at his hands, “She wasn’t exactly...groping me, you know, but... I don’t know, her hand should’ve been _at least_ five centimeters higher...”

Jaw tense, Kyungsoo tries his best to stay silent, but the more he hears, the more he wants to pull Jongin in his arms and just hug him until he forgets all of this.

“I wasn’t really comfortable, so I just got up and told her it was her turn. But then...when she did and I explained to her she was doing it wrong, she just...pulled down her sweatpants and grab my hand to put it back on her lower stomach, over her underwear. But _too low again_. Way too low,” the younger says with a shaky breath, bringing out yet another little cough, “But she just smiled and asked if she was doing it right, this time, so I just...said yes, and removed my hand. Cause, you know, she was really sweet most of the time, and...well, she was Taemin’s friend and I didn’t want to cause unnecessary drama... I mean, I could’ve been wrong... I thought that maybe I was just overthinking...

“But you weren’t... Right ?” Kyungsoo asks in the most gentle tone he can manage, heart tightening when Jongin shakes his head.

“No, I wasn’t,” he confirms dejectedly, “But back then...I didn’t want to talk about it to anyone. I didn’t want to be told I was being ridiculous.”

“I’m so sorry, Jongin...”

“You’re not allowed to apologize anymore, remember ?” Jongin softly laughs, delicately poking Kyungsoo’s thigh.

“Sorry ?” the older says with a little smile, feeling a little bit better when Jongin returns it.

Yet again, however, his grin disappears and he gulps heavily.

“Anyway,” the younger resumes, “Flash forward, it went on like that for another month. And I was really growing more and more uncomfortable, but I still kept it to myself. Until one day,” he breathes out, voice wobbling, and without thinking, Kyungsoo instinctively reaches out and takes Jongin’s warm hand in his own, “I was at an April fool party with some friends,” the dancer says, eyes fixed on their linked palms, “Yunhee was here, obviously, since by then, we had the same circle of friends. I actually found out she had a boyfriend, that night. Much older than her. He was there too,” Jongin adds, hand tightening around Kyungsoo’s, “I was a bit tipsy... Not that much, but I’d had a few drinks, and so did she.”

At that moment, Kyungsoo’s breath falters when he sees Jongin’s eyes glistening under the dim light of the television screen. He knows he won’t like what is coming.

“Jongin...” he whispers, shuffling just a bit closer to the younger, until their knees touch, “Hey, you don’t have to tell me...” he says softly, “I don’t want you to-”

“No, it’s okay,” Jongin interrupts him with a smile that looks genuine yet a little forced, “I’m fine,” he nods to himself, quickly rubbing his eyes with his free hand, the other still secured in Kyungsoo’s hold, “I think I was going to the bathroom when she popped up out of nowhere and dragged me a few meters away from the party. She was like ‘ _Oh my god, Jonginnie, you need to see this !_ ’. And...well, I had already seen her drunk a couple times, and I knew she tended to cry _really_ easily,” the dancer explains, eyes still shiny but tone determined to go through the whole story, “So I just followed her. And then... Honestly, I’m still not entirely sure how it happened... One moment I was trailing behind her, and then the next...” he breathes, lower lip trembling for a brief second.

“Jongin, seriously, you don’t-”

“Yes I do,” he cuts Kyungsoo once more, looking at him straight in the eyes, “Because you _need_ to understand,” he presses before sniffling and taking a deep breath, “Like I said, I’m not sure how, but I remember trying to push her away... Or more like trying to push her _hands_ away. She was touching me all over and it was just too much,” he says, shaking his head and closing his eyes, and Kyungsoo’s heart misses a beat, “But I was afraid she would make a scene if I told her to stop too harshly. So, I tried to explain to her, _gently_ … To tell her she shouldn’t be doing that. That I wasn’t comfortable with it, and that she had a boyfriend. But then... Then she...well… _grabbed_ something she _shouldn’t_ have touched.”

“Oh my god...”

“And I was so surprised, that I reacted on instinct, and I pushed her away a bit too hard. I mean, it wasn’t _that_ hard, she only had to take a few steps back, but she was _drunk_ , and you know how alcohol kinda decuples emotions...”

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo nods in a breath, chest constricting in pain for the soft young man in front of him who only deserves kindness.

“She started crying. Really loud,” Jongin then says, “And I felt so bad... I kinda panicked and I immediately rushed next to her and apologized, trying to calm her down. But then she started thrashing and screaming at the top of her lungs... And of course, _that_ ’s when her boyfriend showed up. And he flipped out,” the younger says, his free hand quickly brushing his pastel pink bangs away from his forehead, “I mean, I can’t really blame him. His girlfriend was fighting to get away from me, crying and screeching while my hands were holding her arms... It’s not hard to imagine what he thought I was doing...”

It’s quite easy, indeed, for Kyungsoo to know what the man assumed.

“To cut the details, let’s just say I sported a pretty impressive black eye and a busted lip for quite some time after that night,” Jongin continues, “I talked about it to some “friends” the next day,” he adds, air-quoting with only one hand, “But nobody believed me. And meanwhile...she went on telling everyone I had assaulted her. I even got called to the police station several times to be questioned.”

“Oh my god,” Kyungsoo repeats, unable to find any other words to express how sick he feels about all this. Instead, he tighten his hold around Jongin’s hand, interlacing their fingers.

“It took a month and a half of investigations before the truth came out. I deleted my old YouTube channel right after it happened, ‘cause I didn’t want to have to deal with the people who believed _her_ and would’ve come and talked shit about me all over the internet...” Jongin says, and Kyungsoo then recalls the younger had indeed mentioned he had been making videos for longer than what his current channel was showing, “But thanks to four of my classmates, who spoke up and told the police she had been pretty inappropriate from the start, I was cleared of any charge.

“They knew ?” the older asks, eyes widening, “They had known all along and they didn’t say anything before ?”

“Yeah...but I’m thankful they did, eventually,” Jongin says with a sad smile, “I thought that would be the end of it and I would be able to finally move on… I just told the police I’d be okay, since she had also kind of admitted what she had done. But then, one day, she started following me, sending me threatening texts, and leaving notes in my mailbox...”

“What the...”

“It took me another month before I went back to the police, with all the proofs, and asked for a restraining order...”

“Did she stop, then ?” Kyungsoo asks, scared there would be even _more_ to the already heartbreaking story.

“She didn’t really have a choice,” Jongin says, looking down at their hands as his thumb brushing against the calluses on Kyungsoo’s fingertips, pressing as if to test the skin, “Her parents sent her aboard when they find out. In the UK, I think. By then, summer break was around the corner, so I was able to distance myself from all that had happened. At least for a couple months,” he finishes, eyes sill staring at their joined digits.

“Jongin... I’m so sorry,” Kyungsoo murmurs, hand tightening its hold around Jongin’s fingers.

“It’s okay…”

“It’s _not_ … Did she...did she ever apologize ?”

“Did Hyunsik apologize ?” Jongin counters instead of answering, looking back up into Kyungsoo’s eyes, “Exactly,” he says when the older stays silent, “Do you understand why I told you all this ?”

Once again, Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything, choosing to look away, not able to hold Jongin’s pressing stare.

“Hyung, what he did is _not right_ ,” the younger continues, “It doesn’t matter that you two dated, and the way he acts has _nothing_ to do with how you broke up with him.”

“But if I had just-“

“Hyung, no ! It. Is. _Not_. Your. Fault,” the dancer enunciates, squeezing Kyungsoo’s hand as if to make sure his message gets through, “And you shouldn’t have to deal with all that shit ! I’m sure he doesn’t even realize what he does is wrong !” Jongin exclaims, voice growing louder, “You started being _friends_ again, and the fucker didn’t even apologize ! That’s not okay ! None of this is ! Please, Hyung, you _need_ to do something !”

Looking back at Jongin’s pleading eyes, Kyungsoo can’t help but sigh.

“But what if I do and people start talking about it ?”

“So what ?!”

“All my subscribers, and-... You said yourself that you deleted your old channel after what happened !”

“That’s not the same ! I was _suspected_ of being a fucking sex offender !” Jongin argues, “And your subscribers ? The hell with them ! I don’t care ! And you shouldn’t either ! _You_ are the one who could be- Who _is_ in danger !” he continues, both hands cradling Kyungsoo’s smaller one, “He assaulted you once ! Who’s to say he won’t do it again ? And it could go even further next time !”

“But-“

“If people wanna talk, let them ! Having such a huge audience could actually be benefic, you know,” the younger points out, “What if some of your fans are in the same situation and don’t have the courage to speak up ? Don’t you wanna be a good example ? Don’t you wanna show them they don’t have to be afraid ? That it’s not their fault ? That they deserve to be heard ?”

“I just... I don’t want my family to know, Jongin...” the older sighs yet again, shaking his head and looking away.

“Your brother already does, right ?”

“Yeah, I guess. Kind of, in a way. But my parents... It would hurt them so much… I can’t Jongin. I just… I can’t.”

“Look, I’m not telling you to report him to the police... Even though I lowkey think you’d have the right to, at this point,” Jongin adds, jaw tense, “But you can’t let things go on like that. What if it escalates and it goes out of control ?” he asks, “I don’t want you to get hurt, Hyung...”

“I’ll... I’ll talk to him.”

“You tried that already. See how it went,” the dancer scoffs, looking a little annoyed by Kyungsoo’s stubbornness.

“No. I mean, I’ll talk to him and make things clear,” Kyungsoo insists, “Look, I know you’re telling me that because you’re worried but... Please. Let me just...deal with it,” he finishes, and watches as Jongin deeply sighs.

“I mean, it’s not like I would force you to do anything,” he answers, “But please, be careful, alright ?”

“I will,” the older adds, nodding before briefly looking down at their hands and back up, somewhat reassured when the dancer offers him a resigned smile and nods back

 

They distractedly watch the end of the movie, Jongin stating that he might as well just give up and not try to watch it anymore.  
Kyungsoo offers his bed to the younger when they decide it’s time to sleep, but after Jongin lied on the couch, refusing to move when Kyungsoo grabbed his arm and tried to yank him up, the older ends up giving him the fluffiest pillow and the softest extra blanket he owns, before biding him goodnight and retiring to his room.

Right before he falls into slumber, his last thought is for the boy snoring loudly in the living room, wishing he had had the nerves to tell him they could’ve share the bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah…the warning at the beginning was pertinent.  
> For those who didn’t catch the hints I sprinkled before :  
> \- In chapter 5, Jongin mentions he started on YouTube three years prior, despite his current channel being only one year old.  
> \- In chapter 7, he tells Kyungsoo that he had, quote “a real shitty stalker issue” at his school.  
> \- And in chapter 15, during a round of Card Against Humanity, he gets really uncomfortable when a sex offender joke comes up.  
> So, here it is.
> 
> Again, I know this is a very serious topic. I am not taking it lightly. The way Kyungsoo reacts after Jongin tells him isn’t me trying to tell you how to act. I am just trying to depict how a lot of people handle things in this kind of situation. Because I know from experience we tend to try and protect the people we love, letting ourselves be hurt in the process.  
> Of course, if you wanna talk to me about it, please feel free to DM on twitter : @Minty_Pixie
> 
> On a lighter note…look at them having a dinner date ! Or non-date, Kyungsoo would say. Baekhyun’s fault, right xD ?  
> Hope you enjoyed !


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...it’s 11k. But the ones following me on twitter have voted for one long chapter instead of two shorter ones, so here we are !  
> I’ll just say one thing : I’m nice. Remember it. Don’t hurt me.  
> Enjoy :) !

“She’s so girly, though !” Chanyeol exclaims, eyes wide open in evident shock, “Who would’ve guessed she was into this kind of terrifying stuff ?!”

Kyungsoo glances at Baekhyun, seated on his left at the café table.  
Poor Chanyeol was still traumatized after going to the preview screening of _Alien: Covenant_ with Seohyun. The girl had somehow gotten them VIP tickets, but the man has been quite surprised when they arrived at the theater. Apparently, she forgot to mention what movie it was, and by the time Chanyeol realized, it was too late.  
Two hours later, she had to snap him out of his stupor and walk _him_ home.  
Two days later, he was still stunned.

“I’m sure there was some foreshadowing signs,” Baekhyun snorts, glancing back at Kyungsoo mischievously.

“Like the fact she willingly agreed to date you,” the younger smirks, sipping on his coffee.

“Yeah that’s some pretty fucking obvious clue !”

“Can you guys stop teaming up against me ?” Chanyeol says with a pout, only getting teasing laughter in response, “So mean,” he grumbles.

“Just tell her you don’t like that kind of movies,” Kyungsoo shrugs, “You don’t _have to_ like the same things to be in a relationship. At least not everything.”

“I guess… Anyway, I wanted to ask you guys something.”

“I usually don’t like what’s coming when you start a sentence like this,” Kyungsoo says, followed by Baekhyun choking on his drink when he laughs, “But go on!”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. So, the bar I contacted got back to me this morning. And I got the gig !”

“Congrats !” Kyungsoo beams, knowing his friend had tried to get to perform there for a while now.

“So, when are you gonna destroy people’s eardrums ?”

“Ha. Ha. Very funny.”

“I know,” Baekhyun replies, mocking a hairflip.

“Next Thursday, 9pm. So, I wanted to ask… Will you guys come ?”

“Sure !” Kyungsoo immediately agrees.

“Baek ?”

“Uh…sorry, I can’t.”

“Why not ?” Chanyeol asks, looking a bit disappointed.

“I have a date that night,” Baekhyun shrugs and Kyungsoo nearly drops his mug.

What the fuck ?

“A what ?”

“A date,” his best friend replies calmly.

Kyungsoo exchanges a look with Chanyeol, confirming that the taller is indeed just as taken aback than he is.

“With…who ?” he asks hesitantly.

“A girl from the dance department.”

“That’s…nice,” Chanyeol says slowly, just as hesitant, “How did you ended up getting a date with her ?”

“She asked,” Baekhyun says with another shrug, looking down at his phone, “She seems nice, so…yeah.”

“Do we know her ?” Kyungsoo asks, more and more confused.

Baekhyun doesn’t just accept dates like this. Even before Taeyeon.

“I don’t think so. Sehun does, though. But I had never seen her before,” Baekhyun answers, before casually giving her the girl’s name.

Kyungsoo has never heard of her, and a quick look at Chanyeol who shakes his head proves him the taller has no idea who she is either.

“How old is she ?” Chanyeol then asks.

“She’s a 91 liner.”

“Ah, you still like noonas, huh ?!” Chanyeol loudly teases him, stopping when Kyungsoo kicks his shin under the table and throw him a pointed look.

Really, this is _not_ the time to bring Taeyeon up in the conversation. He doesn’t want his best friend to think they’re not supportive.

“I guess,” Baekhyun says, though, surprising him even more, before the older stands up, “Be right back, I gotta pee.”

Looking at him walking away toward the café’s bathroom, Kyungsoo can’t help a frown to take over his face. This is so unexpected that he doesn’t know how to react. Of course, he is happy for his best friend. He saw him smile a bit more often lately, so he noticed he was slowly getting better. But jumping forward and agreeing to go on a date with a girl he doesn’t even know is a whole other story. This is not like Baekhyun to do that, and Kyungsoo would know, considering how long they’ve known each other.

It doesn’t settle well in his mind, but he can’t very well say it out loud to his best friend, knowing how much he is trying to move on from Taeyeon.  
The older girl was everything for Baekhyun. To the point he had even talked to Kyungsoo about _proposing_ to her once he would’ve been done with college and had found a stable job. He wanted to give her the world, because his revolved around her.  
She was in all of his plans, in all of his dreams. But everything had been thrown away the day she decided to leave, and Baekhyun had been left behind to pick up the pieces of his shattered heart.

“Kyungsoo…”

“Mmh ?”

Turning back towards Chanyeol, he sees the man is frowning too, looking at his phone.

“I typed her name on Facebook,” he says, expression somewhat troubled.

“And ?”

“And…well… Maybe it’s just me but…” he trails, turning the device so Kyungsoo can see the screen.

The second his eyes lays on the girl’s face, he understands what was bothering Chanyeol.  
That’s not good. Not good at all.

“…No, it’s not just you…”

“Right ? She kinda looks like…”

“Taeyeon noona, yeah…” Kyungsoo nods, still scanning her features.

It’s not straightforwardly obvious, but the resemblance is still noticeable, even more for them, who spent a great amount of time with Taeyeon.

“Do you think he realized ?” Chanyeol asks.

“I don’t know… It might be unconscious,” Kyungsoo replies, worry lacing his voice.

The longer he looks at her picture, the more similarities he finds. It might be the angle the photo was taken in, but he can’t shake the weird feeling out of his mind. That Joohyun girl _really_ looks like Taeyeon.

From the corner of his eyes, he catches Baekhyun walking back towards their table, so he quickly reaches out and pushes Chanyeol’s phone down, so his best friend won’t see what is on the screen.

“Don’t bring it up,” he whispers hastily as Baekhyun sits back down, and Chanyeol subtly nods.

“So !” his best friend smirks, looking at Kyungsoo, “How about you tell us how _your_ date went on Friday ?”

With these words, Kyungsoo forgets about the issue and proceeds to scold Baekhyun for setting Jongin and him in the well-coordinated trap, before blaming him for almost killing the dancer.

  
♪♫

  
\--------------Monday, May 15th--------------  
10:18pm

 **Kyungsoo  
** _how’s your throat ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _It’s fine Hyung xD_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _You can stop worrying_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I told you it was nothing !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you were coughing and you had a freaking rash all over your neck !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _it was NOT nothing !_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I still can’t believe you kept eating !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _or that you even STARTED !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you’re crazy_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _But ou cooked !!_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _It was the first time I’d eat something you made !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you could’ve DIED !!!!!!_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I didn’t !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _because I took the place away !!!!!!_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _plate* sorry, autocorrect_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _xD_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _It was yummy, don’t blame me !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _nah, I’m blaming Baekhyun_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _he’s the one who asked me to cook that dish_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Baekhyun hyung knows what’s good :P_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _so good it could’ve KILLED YOU_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Hyung stop xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _YOUR LIPS WERE ALL SWOLLEN_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _IT SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I THOUGHT I HAD HURT YOU_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _xD_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _It’s okay~_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _My lips are back to normal and so is the skin on my neck !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you’re really fine ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _like, really REALLY COMPLETELY PERFECTLY FINE ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Yes, the allergic reaction is over_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I promise ^-^_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _okay good_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you better not be lying_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I’m not !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _wait a second_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I don’t like how you emphasized the allergic reaction thing…._

 **NiniPoodle  
** _??_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _are you fine APART from that ???_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _…._

 **Kyungsoo  
** _Jongin…_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _what is it ?_

 **NinPoodle  
** _Uhmmmmmmmm xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’m frowning right now_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _You know you could use the frowning emoji instead of writing it xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _don’t try to change the subject !_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Fine !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _what’s wrong ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Why are you so observant xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _Jongin…._

 **Kyungsoo  
** _what. is. wrong ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Okay, okay !_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I miiiiiiight’ve injured myself yesterday…._

 **Kyungsoo  
** _what ????_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _how ????????_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _what happened ?????????????_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I think I wasn’t as ready as I thought for the full 4 rotations of the tour en l’air right after the 4 fouettés_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _wut ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I jumped and tried to rotate 4 times in the air before landing_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _O.O_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I usually nail that move !!!!!_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _For real !!!!_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _But the one before made me…mess up ? Kinda ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _The tour en l’air goes fifth position to fifth position with a change of leg during the first rotation_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _So the foot in front when you land isn’t the same that was in front before the jump_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _But the landing didn’t happen as planned xD_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I think I didn’t do that leg change quickly enough cause I transitioned to fast from the last fouetté_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _My starting position was bleh_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _The plié wasn’t as clean and deep as it should’ve been_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _And it messed up the way I turned and kinda ruined the momentum_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _And it made me lose my balance_

 **_NiniPoodle  
_ ** _Basically xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _that’s….._

 **NiniPoodle  
** _?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I understand nothing o.O_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _…_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I fell_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Hard xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _shit_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _are you okay ????_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _…ish ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _My ankle isn’t happy with me_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _And since I tried not to faceplant_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _My wrist is a bit angry at me too_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _JONGIN_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _WHAT ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _UGH_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _You’re gonna be mad at me too xD ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _YES_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _*puppy eyes*_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _let me guess_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you’re still gonna practice even if it hurts, right ? -_-_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Uhmmmm_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _No xD_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I’m not allowed to_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Doctor’s order…_

  
Blinking at his screen, Kyungsoo frowns. If Jongin isn’t _allowed_ to dance, it might be a lot more serious than what he makes the injury look like.

  
**Kyungsoo  
**_for how long ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _At least two full weeks_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Maybe more_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Which isn’t good cause EXAMS ARE NEXT MONTH_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _And loosing that much time of practice is just…._

 **Kyungsoo  
** _:/_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _still_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you have to listen to the doctor_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _what if you don’t and you get even more injured_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you might not be able to pass the exams altogether_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I know :( but it’s frustrating_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’m really sorry you have to go through that_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _but don’t push yourself, okay ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _listen to the doctor and rest_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Well I can’t really do anything else atm_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I have crutches  °A°_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _is there anything I can do :/ ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Nah_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Unless you wanna volunteer to be my crutch like you said at Baekhyun hyung’s bday xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _shit…..I think I jinxed you_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _No you didn’t xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _that’s AWEFULLY IRONIC THEN_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I’m okay Hyung :P_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I’ll be back twirling in the air soon ^-^ !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _right now you’re only allowed to stay still in your bed_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _Hyung’s order._

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Okay xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _and ask your roommate if you need help for anything_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _That’s gonna be hard xD_

 **NiniPoodle** _  
He spends most of his free time with his girlfriend_

 **NiniPoodle** _  
I hardly see him these days_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _why is life so mean with you T-T_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Idk but you have to be extra nice then !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _when am I ever mean to you ?_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _….You told me my dog would go to dog-heaven_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _OMFG I’M SORRY OKAY ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I DIDN’T MEAN IT LIKE THAT !!!!!!_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I know Hyung xD I’m just teasing you_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you probably aren’t in that much pain if you have enough energy to tease me_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I AM in pain ! Look :_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Ouch ouch ouch it hurt ouch oh it huuuurts_

 **NiniPoodle!  
** _See ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _….._

 **Kyungsoo  
** _very convincing…._

 **NiniPoodle  
** _I should’ve gone for the drama major xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _no._

 **NiniPoodle  
** _SEE ? MEAN !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _realistic._

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Ouch I’m in sooo muuuch paiiiin and you make my poor heart hurt now tooooo_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you’re such a baby_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _:)_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _hehe_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _am_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _judging you_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _so much_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _right now_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Hey you call me a baby, so I’m adjusting !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _by changing your name on kakao ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I work with what I have xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _my eyes might fall off with how hard I’m rolling them_

 **NiniPoodle  
** _Again, there’s an emoji for that :P_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _how do you manage to be so cute yet so annoying at the same time ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _You think I’m cute ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I mean…in the baby sense of the word_

 **Kyungsoo** _  
since I called you a baby_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _not as in “cute” cute_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you know what I mean_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Okay :P_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I gotta go_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I haven’t eaten yet_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _What ? but it’s 11pm !!!_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _yeah, that’s why I gotta go…_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _You tell me to take care of myself but you don’t even do the same !_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Go and eat !!!!_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _okay_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _talk to you tomorrow ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Yup ! Eat well Hyung !_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Bye~_

 **Kyungsoo**  
_bye_

 _  
_ Actually, Kyungsoo did eat. He even washed the dishes after. But his thumbs and brain collaborated to make him call Jongin cute, and he _panicked_. This was the first excuse he could thought of, don’t judge him.

This stupid crush is seriously getting out of hand, and he needs to fucking _get a grip_ and get back down on earth. Even if Jongin told him he didn’t like Sehun, it doesn’t mean he could eventually be interested in Kyungsoo. They’re just friends, and Jongin is just really nice with his friends.  
He’s also way out of Kyungsoo’s league.

  
♪♫

  
“I found a hair on my couch on Sunday night,” Kyungsoo says, scratching a surprisingly cuddly Livia on the head as Baekhyun is choosing an outfit for his date later that evening.

“…Okay ?”

“It had two colors.”

“…Yay for talented hair ?” his best friend confusedly cheers, “Sorry, what’s the response you’re expecting from me here ?” he then chuckles.

“It was brown at the root and a faded pink ‘til the other end,” Kyungsoo explains, and although he isn’t looking at Baekhyun he knows the older understood.

“Ouuuh ! Pink ! Did you two do the naughty on the couch ?”

“Ugh, why do you always turn everything into a game of ‘Did KaiSoo fuck or not ?’” Kyungsoo scoffs, shaking his head before suddenly stilling.

“…Did you just use the shipname your subscribers came up with ?!” Baekhyun laughs, throwing a pair of hopefully clean brief on his face.

The garment ends its course on Livia’s head, making her hiss and claws Kyungsoo’s palm.

“Anyway,” he sighs, wincing as he watches the scratches growing redder, “It was fucking awkward on Saturday morning. I was kinda scared to get out of my bedroom.”

“Still can’t believe you let him sleep on the _couch_ !”

“He insisted ! Didn’t give me the choice, really,” Kyungsoo protests, squirming away from the cat who now decided his thigh was a good target to practice hunting, “He shared a lot of personal stuff the night before. I wasn’t sure he would still be comfortable, since the mood had kinda passed, you know.”

“Yeah, but it went well, right ?”

“We completely avoided the subject until he left, so I guess it went okay, yeah…”

“I’m still curious about those _personal things_ he told you,” Baekhyun says, no trace of teasing in his voice.

When Kyungsoo told him he had a long conversation with Jongin the previous Friday, Baekhyun had been rather serious, probably seeing on Kyungsoo’s face that whatever it was, was not something he could joke about. He didn’t even try to extract more information out of him.

“That’s not something for me to tell,” Kyungsoo shrugs, “So, did you finally decide on what you’re gonna wear ?”

“Yeah, but you, though… Are you planning on wearing _that_ to go to Chanyeol’s gig ?” Baekhyun says with a judging look up and down at his clothes.

“Yes I am, so you can stop planning my makeover inside your head,” he answers, arm flying up when Livia jumps, teeth ready to sink in his flesh.

“Fine ! I’m gonna take a shower, don’t be mean to my princess while I’m gone,” the older warns.

“Well then tell her to stop attacking me !” he claims, lurching away from the relentless feline.

“She hates your clothes too,” Baekhyun finishes before walking out of the room with his toiletries, closing the door behind him.

“What’s wrong with my clothes ?” Kyungsoo asks the cat, before having to dodge when she jumps towards his hand, claws all out, “Okay ! I get it ! You don’t like them !” he says, immediately backing away when she pounces again, “Why do you hate me so much ?!!”

She keeps trying to shred him to pieces for another minute, so Kyungsoo ends up sitting on the floor while she lies down on the bed, sending him a smug look.

“I can’t believe I’m being bullied by a cat,” he sighs, flinching when she lowly mewls, “Fine, I’m sorry…”

He’s looking down at his clothes and wondering what on earth is wrong with them, when he feels his phone vibrating in his pocket. Once, twice, and a third time in less than thirty seconds.  
A smile instantly paints itself on his lips when he fishes the device out and sees Jongin’s name on top of the notifications banner.

  
\--------------Thursday, May 18th--------------  
07:34pm

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Hyung ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Hyuuuuuung_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Kyungsoo hyuuuuuuuuuuuuuung_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _still hasn’t changed your kakao name, huh ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Nope !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _okay then what wrong baby poodle ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I’m hungry_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _well, eat ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I can’t_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _why not ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I may or may not have tried to practice this afternoon…._

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _And I may or may not have hurt myself even more xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _JONGIN !!!!!!_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _NOT MUCH_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Just a little ?_

 **  
** Staring at the screen, Kyungsoo sighs. Why does Jongin have to be so fucking stubborn ? Why can’t he fucking take care of himself ?!  
Why does he have to make Kyungsoo so fucking _worried_ ?

  
**Kyungsoo  
**_can’t you order something to eat ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Noooo_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I’m already resting all day in bed and not burning any calories_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I can’t eat greasy take-out food !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’m sure it won’t hurt if you do it once_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _No, I can’t_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _well you still have to eat tho !_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I know :)_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _My roommate’s not here_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _okay ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _So our room is very empty_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I mean, not empty as in /empty/_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _We have furniture and…stuff_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Empty as in no one’s home_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I mean, no one except from me_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _…okay_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _so ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _We have a kitchen on the floor below :)_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _good for you ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Hyung ? :)_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _what ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ

 **Kyungsoo  
** _?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Hyuuuuuuuuuung  :P_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _what ??_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Remember when you almost kill me ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _OMG YOU SAID IT WOULDN’T HAVE KILLED YOU WTF ????§§!!!!§!!_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _If you wanna apologize, you could come here and cook for me :P ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _????_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _what, now ???_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Yep !_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I can’t get up_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Even less climb stairs down !_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I’m injuuuuured Hyung !_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Look : ouch ouch it huuuurts !_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _You should totally come over here and cook healing food for me :)_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _…._

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you have no shame…_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _hehe_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Are you gonna come over ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _well I already have plans for tonight tho…_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _:((((((_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _But it hurts :(_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _yeah but I was supposed to go see Chanyeol_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _he’s performing in a bar at 9pm_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _:(_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Okay_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Guess I’ll only eat tomorrow then_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _Jongin….._

 **Kyungsoo  
** _are you seriously guilt trapping me rn ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Yes._

 **Kyungsoo  
** _wow you really have no shame_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Nope._

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Please ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Pretty please ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _With a shrimp on top ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _STOP WITH THE SHRIMPS !!!!_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Hyuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuung_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _…._

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _*puppy eyes*_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _…….._

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _*puppy eyes intensifies*_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you’re the one sending a text to Chanyeol to explain._

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _The dorms are in the building B !_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _My room’s on the 6 th floor, number 619_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I’ll give your name to the front office, you’ll have to register as a guest when you arrive !_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Do you need the address of the campus ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _…_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I can find it online_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you seriously have no shame_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _:D_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _is there even food in that kitchen ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Probably not xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _fine_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’m at Baekhyun’s rn_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’ll go to the grocery store on my way_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _You’re the best ^-^ !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _………_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _are you allergic to anything else ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Nope :P !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _okay see you later then_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Yaaaaaaaaaaay_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _text Chanyeol._

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I will !_

  
Right on cue, Baekhyun comes into the room, hair still wet and dripping on the small towel draped on his shoulders.

“What’s with the long face ?” he asks, raising an eyebrow as he eyes Kyungsoo.

“Jongin just convinced me to go cook for him tonight…”

“Well, shit !” Baekhyun laughs, “That’s a nice plot twist ! You agreed ? For real ?”

“Yeah…”

“But his roommate isn’t there…”

“How do you…” Kyungsoo starts before cutting himself.

Sehun. Sehun must’ve run his big mouth again.

“You’ll be alone with him ! _Again_ !”

“Mmh.”

“Are you planning on spending the night there ?”

“What ? No !” Kyungsoo gasps, waking up Livia who hisses at him.

“Why not ? Your classes don’t start until late in the morning, tomorrow !”

“That’s not… I’m just going to cook for him ! He’s injured, he can’t even reach the dorm’s kitchen…”

“Yeah sure,” Baekhyun snorts, putting a graphic tee on.

“It’s true !” Kyungsoo argues, looking away to not be tempted to remind his best friend that Taeyeon was the one who bought him said t-shirt and it might not be the best idea to wear it for a date with _not-Taeyeon_.

“Fine ! Try not to kill him this time, though !”

“Oh my god Baek ! How was I supposed to know he was allergic to shrimps ?!”

“I don’t know, you could’ve asked him ?”

“But what were the chances ?”

“Actually a lot of people are allergi-”

“This is your fault, though ! _You_ were the one who asked me to cook that dish !” Kyungsoo counters, getting up when Livia once again tries to claw at his arm.

“Did I ?” Baekhyun asks, faking innocence.

“Yes !”

“Okay, but how was I supposed to know he was allergic to shrimps ?”

“Wow, welcome to Hypocrite-Town !”

“Thanks, I heard it’s a great place !”

“And why did you ask me to cook that dish if you knew you weren’t even gonna eat it ?!” Kyungsoo finally asks.

The question has been in the back of his mind since that night, but after hearing about Baekhyun’s date, he had been busy worrying about that instead.

“It’s your best dish !” the older replies as if it was evident, “I know you think your kimchi spaghetti is good, but that fried rice and shrimps ? Yeah, delicious !” he states with a nod, and Kyungsoo just sighs. “In my defense, I really thought we were gonna all be there. But Sehun thought it could be a good opportunity to-“

“I swear to god, you two...” Kyungsoo interrupts him, closing his eyes for a second in annoyance.

“Chanyeol was quite bummed when we told him he wouldn’t get to eat what you cooked !” Baekhyun offers with a shrug, “He loves it too.”

“Chanyeol would even eat cardboard...”

“Come on he’s not that-… Yeah okay, he might, if you tell him it’s dried meat...”

“Exactly.”

“Shit, how are you gonna tell him you’re not going to his gig ?”

“That’s Jongin’s job.”

“You threw him under the bus just like that ?” Baekhyun laughs, looking at Kyungsoo through the mirror as he styles his hair.

“He’s the one who asked me to come over. So he should be the one dealing with cancelling my plan.”

“You have no shame…” Baekhyun scoffs, shaking his head.

“Guess he and I are quite similar,” Kyungsoo mumbles to himself, remembering how he repeated the exact same words to Jongin minutes ago.

  
♪♫

  
Balancing the grocery bags in his arms, Kyungsoo knocks on door number 619.

He has been an overthinking mess since he left Baekhyun’s room. Enough to actually swing by his own apartment and _change his clothes_.  
He keeps repeating himself that everything is going to be fine, that he just needs to stay calm and act as normal as he can. But the prospect of being alone with Jongin is a tiny dorm room, with nowhere to escape, is quite nerve-wracking.

He can do this, right ?

He’s ready.

“It’s open !” he hears from inside.

Willing his hand to stop shaking, he grabs and turns the handle, pushing the door carefully.

He was not ready.

So not ready for the view greeting him.

Cladded in loose sweatpants and _shirtless_ , Jongin is half laying on his twin-sized bed, laptop propped on his thighs, the caramel skin of his toned stomach smoothly rolling on the muscles as he sits properly.

And that would’ve been enough for Kyungsoo to lose his shit.

But the blinding smile the dancer is shining at him ends up being even _worse_ , and Kyungsoo thinks it’s a miracle that he manages not to drop the heavy bags he is carrying.

No one should be allowed to be this handsome, really.

“You made it !” Jongin says, sounding genuinely happy as he closes the laptop and places it on the bed cover, “Did you find the campus easily ?” he asks then, knowing Kyungsoo never came here before.

“Yeah, I just followed Google Maps’ instructions,” he answers in a daze, standing awkwardly in the doorway and trying to keep his eyes on Jongin’s _face_.

“Wait, let me help you.”

Kyungsoo snaps back to reality when he sees Jongin swinging his legs out of the bed and notices the thick bandage wrapped around his ankle.

“No no no, you keep your ass on that bed !” he scolds, rushing to the dancer’s side before he can attempt to stand, “Just tell me where the kitchen is.”

“I’ll show you,” the younger says, trying once more to get on his feet.

Or his foot, actually.

The second he sees Jongin dangerously swaying, Kyungsoo drops the bags on the bed and grabs the dancer’s arm to stabilize him.

“Why are you so stubborn ?!” he sighs, frowning in worry when Jongin winces, “Where are your crutches ?”

“I don’t know…”

“You don’t know ?” he repeats, raising an eyebrow when Jongin offers him a sheepish smile and a shrug, “How can you not know ?”

Another shrug, followed by a chuckle.

And no one should be allowed to be this cute either.

“You can be my crutch !”

“What ?”

“You’re the perfect height for that, remember ? You were the one suggesting it !” Jongin smiles, clearly looking proud of himself, “We can each carry one bag and you can help me get down the stairs !”

Now, don’t get him wrong, Kyungsoo still has some pride and dignity, and he would absolutely not give in if it was anyone else.

But this is Jongin.

Jongin and his breathtaking smile.  
Jongin and his beautiful eyes looking right into Kyungsoo’s, full of hope and mischief.  
Jongin and his adorable dimple.  
Jongin and his very shirtless tempting body.

And this is probably why, pride and dignity getting swiped aside, Kyungsoo finds himself supporting the taller boy down the stairs a few minutes later.

After getting him to put on a fucking shirt, must he add. And he conveniently doesn’t mention the crutches he sees hidden in the closet when he grabs said shirt for the dancer. Because he doesn’t want to put Jongin on the spot for his lie, of course. Not because he is thrilled at the idea of being so close to him.

“Just sit there and don’t mess around,” he orders as he helps Jongin sitting on the single chair standing in the corner of the small kitchen.

“No, wait ! I can help you !”

“And injure yourself even more ? No thanks. I can manage,” Kyungsoo deadpans, starting to lay down the ingredients on the narrow countertop and trying not to look at Jongin that he can see pouting from the corner of his eyes.

“I feel bad letting you do all the work !”

“Isn’t that why you asked me to come ?” Kyungsoo snorts, glancing at the dancer who has the decency to look sheepish.

“I was also bored,” Jongin offers then with a shrug, “So I thought we could…I don’t know, be bored together ?”

“I had something planned, though.”

“Right… Sorry…”

“Did you text Chanyeol, by the way ?” Kyungsoo asks as he cleans the zucchinis in the sink, not wanting Jongin to feel bad, since he doesn’t actually mind that much the change of plan.

“Yeah ! He was fine with it !” Jongin instantly answers, and Kyungsoo can hear the smile in his voice even without looking at him.

“Of course he was,” Kyungsoo snorts to himself, lightly shaking his head.

He might not be as close to Chanyeol than he is to Baekhyun, but he knows for sure the two of them are on the same mission when it comes to pushing Kyungsoo closer to Jongin.

“Seriously, though… I feel bad not helping you,” Jongin says, or rather _whines_ a few minutes later, just as Kyungsoo starts slicing the vegetables.

He is about to reassure him that it’s fine, once more, when he sees the dancer trying to get up.

“What are you-… Wait !” he exclaims, abandoning his task and hurrying to help him stand without falling.

Standing on one foot, Jongin eyes him expectantly, his hand secured on Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

“Let me help,” the younger nags with a pout that makes Kyungsoo’s stomach squeeze weirdly.

So fucking stubborn.

With a sigh, the older eventually nods, slowly walking towards the kitchen counter, a hand hovering above the small of Jongin’s back, just to be ready to catch him if he topples over as he hops on one foot, leaning on Kyungsoo.

Once the dancer is using the countertop to balance himself, Kyungsoo goes to retrieve the chair and brings it back to Jongin, carefully helping him to sit.

“Is your wrist okay ?” he asks just to be sure, even if there is no bandage in sight.

“Yeah, it wasn’t that serious,” Jongin assures him with a smile and a joyful nod as he wiggles his hand in circle to prove his statement is true.

Hesitantly, Kyungsoo places a second cutting board in front of the younger, who is thankfully tall enough to reach the countertop even while sitting. He then drops a few carrots and grabs the Y peeler he had set aside.

“You think you can handle peeling the skin off ?” he questions seriously, remembering that the last time he let someone do that, the person ended up bleeding all over the apples.

Baekhyun is a disaster in a kitchen.

“Please,” Jongin scoffs, giving him a cocky look, “I’m a professional adult. Have some faith in me.”

“Alright Gordon Ramsay, try to keep your fingers intact,” he chuckles, handing Jongin the utensil before he goes back to slicing the zucchinis.

He is halfway through the third one when he notices the lack of noise coming from his left. Curious, he glances to the side, but all he finds there is Jongin staring at him, an untouched carrot in his hands.

“What ?”

“Nothing,” Jongin merely answers, but keeps looking at him.

“What ?!” he repeats a bit louder in a chortle.

“Nothing !” the younger says again in a similar tone, before finally averting his eyes and starting to work on the task he has been assigned to.

Kyungsoo can see the little smile on his lips, but decides to ignore it. That was weird, anyway.

“Is there a rice cooker somewhere ?” he inquires once he is done with half of the vegetables.

“Yeah, in the cupboard over there,” Jongin replies, pointing to his right before he starts to stand using the countertop to help himself up.

In a heartbeat, Kyungsoo drops the knife he is holding and rushes once more towards the dancer, pushing his shoulder down until he is sitting again.

How stubborn can someone be, really ?

“I’ll get it !” he scolds with a frown, “Stop trying to walk around or I’ll have to tie you to that chair !” he adds, opening the cupboard to retrieve the appliance.

After rinsing the rice three times, Kyungsoo finally sets the cooker down on the countertop, plugging it in the electrical outlet and turning it on, before returning to his vegetables.

“You want to tie me down a lot,” Jongin suddenly says, “First the bed, now the chair. I never thought you were _that_ kinky,” he adds, sounding a bit too casual to match the topic he’s approaching.

And really, Kyungsoo isn’t one to nonchalantly blabber about bedroom habits. But it’s Jongin he is talking to, and his mouth tends to run quicker than his brain whenever he is with the dancer.

“Eh, BDSM can be fun,” he shrugs, “You know, breath-play and stuff.”

At this point, he should be mortified, realizing what he just said, but a loud and happy laughter makes his mind abruptly short-circuit as it echoes in the small room in the goofiest melody Kyungsoo has ever heard.  
And without meaning too, he can’t help but stare in complete awe at Jongin, whose face is scrunched up in hilarity, eyes squeezed shut and dimple as deep as the he crush Kyungsoo has on him.

He is so fucking screwed. But he knew that already.

He stares and stares, until Jongin seems to notice and cutely tilts his head.

“What ?” he asks in the same tone Kyungsoo had used earlier.

The older keeps looking at him for a few more seconds, feeling his own lips stretch into a little smile, before he shakes his head.

“Nothing,” he breathes, going back to the awaiting zucchinis.

He feels Jongin’s eyes on him, for just a bit longer, before the younger resumes pealing the damn carrots.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kyungsoo thinks how domestic the scene feels, before asking his brain to fucking shut up.  
No need to drown into stupid fantasies. He and Jongin, more than just impossible, it’s also a disaster bound to happen. He can’t let himself get distracted, anyway.  
This was why he dumped Hyunsik to begin with. It’s so hypocritical of him to wish for more when it comes to Jongin.

He really needs to fucking get a grip and _stop_ this. Whatever “this” is.

  
♪♫

  
From : **Hyunsik  
** 06:19pm-  
_Hey I just listened to the file you sent and it’s SO GOOD ! You added an Em pivot chord to the step-up modulation at 2:35, right ? I LOVE IT !_

  
Kyungsoo quickly texts back a ‘Yes’ and a ‘Thank you’ before bringing his phone back up to his ear to resume his conversation with Baekhyun, just as he enters his apartment building, happy to see the lock on the front door has been fixed.

“Was it the chicken ?” his best friend asks while Kyungsoo makes his way towards the mailboxes.

“Nah, Hyunsik.”

“Dude isn’t dropping it, huh ? How’s the project going ?”

“Good, we’re almost done, _finally_ ,” Kyungsoo sighs, retrieving his mail, “I can’t wait for the semester to be over so I don’t have to work with him anymore.”

Since his conversation with Jongin, Kyungsoo has been feeling really uneasy whenever he had to meet with his ex-boyfriend. The boy hasn’t tried anything and has just acted friendly with him, but Jongin’s words keep swirling in Kyungsoo’s mind and he knows he has unconsciously been colder with his ex than he had in weeks.

“You just have to wait for about a month,” Baekhyun says in a reassuring tone, “Hang in there !”

“Yeah… Anyway, so what was your scary dream about ?” he then asks, remembering what they were talking about before he put Baekhyun on hold when he received Hyunsik’s text.

“Right, so, I was in this weird lab, and there were aliens, but not those like you see in movies. They looked _nothing_ like humans !”

“Okay ?” Kyungsoo distractedly nods as he climbs the stairs.

“Like, they didn’t have two eyes, a nose, a mouth, or even things like arms and legs. Which makes total sense !” Baekhyun says, starting to sound excited, “Hollywood’s representation of extra-terrestrial life is too close to human. Because people’s brains need to have a reference, so they can twist it and make it look uncanny, you know ? Enough to be scary, or at least creepy. But there are little to no chance actual aliens look anything like us, if they do exist !”

With a chuckle, Kyungsoo opens his apartment door, amused to hear his best friend nerd out yet again. It had been a long time.

“I guess, yeah.”

“I mean, for all we know, there’s a planet covered in thousands of one-cell micro-alien-organisms somewhere ! That’s still considered as extra-terrestrial life !”

“Agreed,” Kyungsoo says, smiling, “You kinda drifted away from your dream, though,” he adds, dropping his mail on the coffee table.

“Oh, right ! Okay so, they looked nothing like us. So of course, for them, _I_ was the weird alien !”

“Not only for them,” Kyungsoo snorts, tuning on his laptop.

“Shut up and _listen_ ! They were trying to decide which parts of my body were necessary and which were useless… To _remove_ those ones.”

As usual whenever Baekhyun tells a story, be it a dream or just a scenario he came up with, Kyungsoo smiles. The older can’t help but make little pauses, to add some suspense.

“That doesn’t sound good,” he chortles, making his way towards the kitchen, starting to get into the crazy tale.

“And one was like ‘ _Eyes or hair ?_ ’”

“Wait, how did you understand them ?” he asks, opening the fridge.

“I don’t know. It was a dream !”

“You were the one pointing out how that dream made total sense just a few minutes ago !”

A short silence follows, during which Kyungsoo pours himself a glass of orange juice, giving Baekhyun the time to made up an explanation.

“Whatever,” his best friend however says, and Kyungsoo can picturing him shrugging, “So, they removed my hair.

“How ?”

“I don’t know ? One second it was there, and the next it wasn’t !”

“Alien’s magic,” he offers, dropping on his couch after setting his glass on the coffee table.

“But _then_ the same one goes like _‘What’s that ?_ ’, pointing at my _dick_ ! Cause apparently they didn’t have the same piping system, so that huge dangling thing was a mystery for them !”

“Huge ?” Kyungsoo laughs, opening his email inbox, entertained by Baekhyun’s dramatic tone, “Really ?”

“And the alien goes like ‘ _Nose or dick ?_ ’,” the older continues without answering Kyungsoo’s teasing, “And dude, I _panicked_ ! I was like ‘W _oaaaaah hold on, hold the fuck on !!!_ ’ But they didn’t care !!!”

“Actually, yeah, hold on… Were you naked from the beginning of the dream ?” Kyungsoo inquires, raising an eyebrow as his eyes speed-read through his teacher’s email about the paired project.

“Why ? Are you trying to _visualize_ everything ?”

“No thanks,” Kyungsoo scoffs, “But were you ?”

“I don’t know ! Focus ! They wanted to chop off my dick !”

“It was just a dream,” he says, rolling his eyes as he opens the next email.

“I’m traumatized anyway !!!” Baekhyun exclaims, sounding scandalized.

And Kyungsoo would’ve laughed, or teased him some more, if only his eyes had not fallen on the first line written in the email’s body.

“Oh god…” he breathes, gaping.

“Exactly ! I mean, I love my nose, it’s cute as fuck, but I’d give it away any day if it means I can keep my junk !” his best friend keeps going, clearly not assessing the change of mood.

“No…I meant… Baek…”

“What ?”

“Baekhyun !!!”

“That’s me ! What’s going on ?”

“I just… I got the email…” Kyungsoo utters, completely in shock.

“The email ? What ema-…” Baekhyun starts before abruptly cutting himself, “Wait… _The_ Email ? Capital E ?”

“Capital E…”

“Shit ! What does it say ?!!” his best friend franticly asks, any thought about his dream seemingly disappearing, “Did you get in ?!!”

“I…”

Eyes open wide, Kyungsoo gives the whole thing a second read, then a third, not believing this is really happening.

“Soo ?”

“I did it… Baek, I got in…”

“Holy fuck !!!”

“I’m starting on July 3rd,” Kyungsoo exhales, a large smile stretching his lips as his eyes still roam on the screen.

“Shit, this is so fucking awesome !!! Congrats !!!”

“Thanks !”

His grin is so wide it’s starting to hurt his cheeks, but he can’t help it.

“Man, that’s… Your dream is fucking coming true !” Baekhyun adds, sounding just as excited as Kyungsoo is, “Wait…”

“Mmh ?”

“What are you gonna tell the chicken ?”

“J- Jongin ? I don’t know, why ?” Kyungsoo frowns, not really seeing how the dancer has anything to do with the conversation.

“Well, you’ll be away for two entire months,” Baekhyun provides as if it was evident, “Away as in literally another continent.”

“…Right.”

Something in him knows he should be annoyed by that, but somehow, the biggest part of his mind is way too thrilled to even care about it.  
This is was he meant anyway. He can’t let himself be distracted. Now less than ever.

“Okay, you know what ? Let’s not talk about him for now,” Baekhyun says, probably knowing what is going on inside Kyungsoo’s head, “This is about _you_ ! So I’m gonna come over, buy a bottle of champagne on the way, and we’re gonna fucking celebrate !” he continues, clearly delighted, “Because my best friend just secured himself an internship at the fucking Abbey Road Studio ! And I’m so fucking _proud_ !”

“Fuck, my hands are shaking !” Kyungsoo replies, excitement taking over.

“Abbey Road, Soo ! You’re gonna fucking work at Abbey Road Studio !”

“I know !!”

“Did they say with who ?”

“The movie soundtrack recording team !”

“That’s what you fucking wanted !”

“Yes !”

“Holy shit !”

“I know !”

“I’m on my way !”

“Okay !”

And it’s only twenty minute later, when the intercom rings, that Kyungsoo finally avert his eyes from his screen, the same big smile permanently carved on his face.

  
♪♫

  
The next few weeks are spent in a commingling of excitement and stress, and in the middle of the preparations for Junmyeon’s birthday, the actual party, the intensified pre-exam studying and all the planning for his internship, Kyungsoo barely has the time to breathe.

It’s only when he posts about said internship on his Instagram and Twitter accounts than he realizes he hasn’t even told Jongin yet.

  
\--------------Wednesday, June 7th--------------  
09:33pm

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _London ???????  °A°_

 **  
** Staring at his phone, Kyungsoo winces. They haven’t really had any chance to talk much, the dancer being busy on his own trying to figure out how he is gonna pass his exams when his ankle is still in pain. He wasn’t even able to come to Junmyeon’s birthday party because of it. Not that he missed anything big, since the evening had been quite calm.

 **Kyungsoo  
** _yeah, London_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Hyung that’s awesome !!!!!_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I’m so happy for you !!!!!!!!!!_

  
Of course, he is. Jongin is Kindness in human form.  
And it makes Kyungsoo feel bad for not telling him sooner.

 **  
Kyungsoo  
** _thanks_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’m hella nervous tho_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Don’t be ! It’s gonna be awesome !_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Aaaah I’m so so so happy for you :D_

  
Great. Now he really feels like a shitty friend, considering how Jongin must be the only one who didn’t know, at this point. Even _Sehun_ knows, thanks to Baekhyun and his need to brag about Kyungsoo’s success. It’s actually weird that he didn’t mention it to his best friend.

  
**NiniBabyPoodle  
**_When are you leaving ?!!!!_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _july 1st_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _plane takes off at 9am_

**Kyungsoo  
** _the internship start on the 3rd but I wanted to be there a couple days before to settle in_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _That’s good :D !_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Where are you staying ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I found a room to rent for the two months I’ll be there_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _it’s a big house owned by an old lady_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’ll have 3 roommates from what I understood_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _That’s so freaking cool_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Do you know how old they are ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _not exactly_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _but the lady usually rents rooms to students so I guess they’ll be around my age anyway_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Look at you going to conquer the world !_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Making new friends !_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _You better not forget about us !!!!_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _tsss xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _maybe I won’t like them_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _or maybe they won’t like ME_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Pfff you’re ridiculous xD_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _As if someone could /not/ like you_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _hey it’s possible !_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Nuh huh_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Look at us !!!_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _We became friend instantly !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _that’s because you like literally EVERYONE_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I don’t !_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _You’re special :P_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I’m sure they’ll love you too ^-^!_

  
Kyungsoo re-reads the message, his brain uselessly emphasizing the very last word, stupidly trying to turn it into a subliminal message, before he shakes himself out of it.

Maybe those two months away will be a good opportunity to finally end that absurd crush he has on Jongin.  
Out of sight, out of mind, right ?  
Right.

 _  
_ **Kyungsoo  
** _how’s your ankle ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Better I think ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you’re not supposed to answer with a question -_-_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Sorry xD_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Better I think._

 **Kyungsoo  
** _good_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _did you work something out for the exams ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _yours are from the 26th to the 30rd right ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Yeah I talked with the teachers_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _They said I can pass the written with everyone and the dancing parts later this summer_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Probably at the same time the summer session’s students will take theirs_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _There’s another girl from my department who broke her arm, she’ll pass them at the same time_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _that’s great !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I mean, not that she hurt herself_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _but that they allow you to still take the exam once you’ll get better_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Idk_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _I mean, that’s what they usually do since injuries are pretty common_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _But I feel bad  :/_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _why ?_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Everyone worked really hard and it doesn’t seem fair for me to have extra time :/_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _but it’s not like you injured yourself on purpose_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _you can’t even practice anyway_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Yeah but still  :/_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _well if anyone says anything, just tell me_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’ll come and make them shut up_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Sir Kyungsoo, Knight in shining armor xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _*gets the sword ready*_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
**_Save me~_  (╥﹏╥)

 **Kyungsoo  
** _fear no more, dear Prince of the Dance Kingdom !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _If thine classmates wrong thee, I shall whoop their asses !_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _x’D_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _That might be a bit hard when you’ll be in London xD_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Unless you learned how to teleport ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _…_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _guess thou’ll have to fend for thyself then_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how chivalry dies..._

 **Kyungsoo  
** _tragic_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Indeed  xD_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’ll bring thee a souvenir back_

 **NiniBabyPoodle  
** _Bribery still lives  \o/_

  
♪♫

  
Time flies by even faster when Kyungsoo’s exam week eventually arrives. He falls asleep every night with no idea where the hours have gone, but excitement bubbling under his skin, each day a little stronger. The fact that he is actually going to leave South Korea and going to work with a team of professional, at Abbey Road Studio is still blowing his mind and making his guts twist in glee.

In the middle of his own studying, Jongin still finds some time to send him good luck text messages every morning, but the both of them are way too busy to talk much.

It’s good practice for when he’ll be away. Or this is at least what Kyungsoo tries to convince himself of, whenever he starts missing the long conversations they used to have.

When the last day of exams finally passes, bringing with it the presentation of his and Hyunsik’s project, Kyungsoo tries to focus as best as he can, forcing his mind not to think of everything he still needs to take care of before his departure.

“I can’t believe it’s done !”

“Yeah, finally,” Kyungsoo answers, exiting the examination room, Hyunsik on his heels.

“Oh come on,” he ex-boyfriend chuckles, nudging him lightly, “Was it _that_ annoying to work with me ?”

Looking to the side, Kyungsoo sees the boy offering him an amused smile, his brow raised to complete his teasing expression. And before a certain conversation with a certain dancer, Kyungsoo would’ve certainly played along.  
But Jongin’s words are still ringing in his mind.

“Honestly ? Yes,” he answers tactlessly, because Hyunsik has also been a real pain in the ass these last few days, and really, Kyungsoo couldn’t be happier that this paired project is finally done.

His tone however doesn’t seem to bother Hyunsik, who bursts out laughing and playfully pushes Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

“Woah, you could have lied !” he says, still cackling.

“I’d rather not stroke your ego,” Kyungsoo replies curtly, because the friendlier Hyunsik goes, the clearer Jongin’s sad face and cracking voice come back haunting him.

Enough for him to suddenly feel sick just walking side by side with his ex.

“Hey, wait !” Hyunsik calls when Kyungsoo speeds up his pace to put as much distance as he can between them.

He just wants to be away from him. But of course, Hyunsik wouldn’t let him.

“What ?” he says, audibly annoyed when the boy’s hand lands on his forearm and stops him.

“Uhm…are you…doing something tonight ?” Hyunsik asks, looking suddenly nervous.

“Why ?”

“I was thinking…maybe we could celebrate ?”

“Why ?” Kyungsoo repeats, turning towards the man.

“Because the exams are over ?” Hyunsik says, releasing Kyungsoo’s arm and looking confused, probably because the reason was pretty evident.

“I meant why would we celebrate _together_ ?”

“Uhm… I don’t know ?”

In Hyunsik’s defense, it’s the first time in a while Kyungsoo has been _that_ harsh with him, and it kinda feels like they’re back to when he had just gotten transferred at K-arts. So Kyungsoo isn’t exactly surprised to see his ex-boyfriend looking so unsettled.

But he still doesn’t have it in him to really care much.

“Exactly. The exams are done, we nailed the project, period,” he states, taking a small step back, “If I wanna celebrate that with someone, I’ll do it with my _friends_.”

The hurt in Hyunsik eyes does make him feel a bit guilty. But still not enough to apologize.

“Oh…okay…” Hyunsik nods in a breathy voice, lowering his eyes to the ground, before looking up with a clearly strained smile, “I hope you’ll have fun, then ! Tonight, and also in London !” he adds, trying to sound cheerful, although Kyungsoo can see he is forcing himself, “See you… Or not, I guess…” he finishes, averting his gaze.

Kyungsoo doesn’t get the time to reply before Hyunsik walk starts walking away, leaving him frowning. Maybe he had been a little _too_ cold, there.

But before he can think too much about it, his phone pings, announcing a new text message.

  
From : **Annoying Bunny  
** 05:14pm-  
_I’m done ! You ?_

 _  
_ To : **Annoying Bunny  
** 05:14pm-  
_yeah me too, let’s meet up at the front gate_

  
Baekhyun replies back with a thumbs up emoji, and Kyungsoo pockets the phone before making his way towards the campus entrance.

Just as he rounds the corner of the Theater’s building, he is forced to abruptly halt his steps when he bumps into a familiar figure, the both of them apologizing at the same time the next second.

He doesn’t often have ten centimeters on someone, so it’s nice to be the one having to check if he didn’t hurt the person he collided with.  
Although the _last_ girlfriend was just as short as the _new_.

Joohyun ends up grinning at him as they greet each other, so he forces himself to smile back.  
He’s still a bit awkward with the girl, having only met her a couple times since her first date with Baekhyun.  
He doesn’t really know how not to be. Taeyeon had been a constant in Baekhyun’s life for four years, and she had consequently become one in Kyungsoo’s life too.  
His best friend had lost a girlfriend, but Kyungsoo had also lost a friend when the older girl left. And as nice Joohyun is, it still feels weird to consider her as Baekhyun’s _girlfriend_.

It doesn’t really settle well in his mind. Even less when he knows without a doubt that Baekhyun is not over Taeyeon.  
And the fact that the girl has this uncanny resemblance with Taeyeon makes it even more unsettling, although he hasn’t brought it up to Baekhyun.

The small talk is just as awkward as it was the few last times they talked, worsen by the absence of Baekhyun throwing jokes to relax the atmosphere.

“Baekhyun said I could join you, tonight… Is that okay with you ? I don’t wanna intrude,” Joohyun says when he tells her he’s on his way to meet his best friend before they go back to his apartment and get ready to go out.

“Sure ! We’re probably just gonna go on a bar-tour with other friends, to celebrate the end of finals,” he nods, because she looks like she genuinely care for his approval, “You can meet us at my place before, if you want.”

Although they haven’t talked much, he knows she’s really trying to get along with him. Most likely because Kyungsoo kind of comes as a deal package along Baekhyun, so he supposes it’s pretty logic she would try to be friend with him.  
That’s why he has done his best to welcome her in their group of friends.

Or, well, that, and also because she seems to really, _really_ like Baekhyun. Which is in turn making him feel bad, since he is aware his best friend isn’t feeling exactly the same.

“Okay !” she says, beaming at him and Kyungsoo feels even more guilty.

“I’ll text you my address,” he says, trying to smile back without it looking too forced.

She nods enthusiastically, before telling him she needs to go meet a friend of hers, and they finally part a minute later after waving at each other.

Kyungsoo resumes his walking, sighing when he eventually arrives at the main gates.  
He isn’t really sure he wants to go out, at this point. The whole evening is going to be rather awkward, with Joohyun there.

And Jongin won’t even be here to distract him.

  
♪♫

  
A week later, Kyungsoo is getting ready for the big party planned at Junmyeon’s place. The semester is finally over, and since some of them are not going to be around all summer, just like Kyungsoo who will be leaving the next morning, they all wanted to gather together one last time.

It’s nearly 8pm when he finishes getting dressed. He’s running a bit late, because he had to unpack his suitcase to find those goddamn jeans, then pack everything back again and deal with the luggage’s zipper refusing to cooperate.

By then, he had already received five text messages from both Baekhyun and Sehun, the latter being very adamant on telling him Jongin looked sad that he wasn’t here yet.

Of course, Jongin being at the party is definitely not the reason why he is rushing that much and currently half flying down the stairs of his apartment’s building.  
Or so he tells himself.

The younger’s exams had finished earlier that day and Sehun had gone to pick him up right after, since he was still using crutches to move around. Apparently, they had magically reappeared the day after Kyungsoo went to cook for him. Kyungsoo still hasn’t mentioned spotting them is the closet.

  
From : **Annoying Bunny  
** 08:07pm-  
_GET YOUR THICK ASS OVER HERE FOR FUCK SAKE !  
AND YOU BETTER BE WEARING THOSE BLACK SKINNY JEANS I BOUGHT YOU THE OTHER DAY !_

  
To : **Annoying Bunn  
** 08:09pm-  
_CHILL YOUR NIPPLES I’M WEARING THEM ! Just like you /ordered/ me to. Four times this afternoon.  
I’ll be there soon, I’m almost at the subway station._

  
From : **Annoying Bunny  
** 08:11pm-  
_GOOD ! BECAUSE THE CHICKEN IS LOOKING LONELY OVER HERE AND A GIRL IS STARING AT HIM HARDCORE !_

 _  
_ To : **Annoying Bunny  
** 08:12pm-  
_STOP WITH THE CAPS LOCK ! I SAID I’M ON MY WAY !_

  
From : **Annoying Bunny  
** 08:13pm-  
_BE ON YOUR WAY A LITTLE FASTER THEN ! BLONDIE IS STILL EYE-FUCKING HIM FROM ACROSS THE ROOM !_

  
Rolling his eyes, Kyungsoo fastens his steps nonetheless, only because he can’t wait to see all his friends. It has nothing to do with Baekhyun ordering him to do so. And definitely nothing to do with the mention of that _girl_ gawking at Jongin.

She can stare all she wants, it doesn’t bother him at all.

  
From : **Annoying Bunny  
** 08:22pm-  
_SHE’S TALKING TO HIM ! HURRY THE FUCK UP YOU PENGUIN-SLOTH !_

  
Really, he doesn’t mind.

And he absolutely doesn’t feel like glaring at her, whoever the fuck she is.

And it’s because he doesn’t care, not one bit, for real, that he arrives at Junmyeon’s house in half the time it usually takes him.

He just felt like power-walking when he exited the subway.

And of course, it doesn’t feel like a victory when he finally gets there, and Jongin hurriedly gets his crutches to walk up to Kyungsoo, leaving _Blondie_ behind him without even a word.

Not at all.

Or maybe it does.

But he still tries not to send her a cocky smile.

  
♪♫

  
The pounding headache crushing his brain is the first thing Kyungsoo registers when he wakes up, and it takes him a good minute to situate himself.

Lying on a thin mattress in one of Junmyeon’s house’ guest rooms, he pushes his body up until he’s sitting, looking around to see if anyone else is there. Vaguely wondering how he even ended up here, he only finds Chanyeol snoring on the bed, Seohyun cuddled up in his arms.

The party probably went wild enough for him to decide not to go home, and if the metal concert going on inside his skull is any indication, he must have drank quite a lot. Vodka, judging from the bad aftertaste lingering in his pasty mouth.

In a flash of lucidity, Kyungsoo frantically looks for his phone, finding it abandoned on the floor a meter away, and surges forward to grab it. Only to deflate when the device doesn’t light up, no matter how hard he presses on that goddamn button.

But it only takes a glance to the left, towards the digital clock propped on the nightstand, for him to realize.

He’s screwed.

His plane is leaving in a little less than two hours, and he still needs to go back to his place to pick up his suitcases and get to the airport on time.  
Apparently, showering is a luxury he won’t be able to afford this morning.  
Taking a second, he mentally apologizes to the person who will have to sit next to him on the plane for twelve hours, before standing and bolting out of the room.

On his way down the stairs, Baekhyun suddenly pops up, messy bed hair and eyes open wide, looking panicked, although still groggy.

“You’re gonna be late !” he whisper-screams, probably because people are still asleep all around the house.

“I know !” Kyungsoo replies in the same tone, climbing the stairs down so fast he almost slips.

Socks and glossy laminate flooring are _not_ a good combo.

When he finally reaches the ground floor, he grabs Baekhyun’s wrist and keeps walking towards the front door. Thankfully, his best friend complies without a word and rapidly put on his shoes, following him outside the house.

He’ll need all the help he can get. Even if it’s simply mental support and encouraging words.

  
By some miracle, he manages to make it to the airport fifteen minutes before boarding, and they both collapse on a bench next to the departure gate, out of breath and feeling a bit sick.

“I’m never drinking again,” Kyungsoo groans, closing his eyes when his headache intensifies thanks to the blood rushing to his brain after running so much.

“You always say that,” Baekhyun chuckles, dropping his head on the younger’s shoulder.

“Do you know why my phone is dead ?”

“Yeah, it fell into the bowl of fruit-punch, and then you tried to use Junmyeon’s mom’s blow-dryer on high heat to fix it,” Baekhyun explains calmly, as if this is all completely normal, “But I think you just fried the components. It smelled like burnt plastic.”

“The fuck even happened, last night ?” Kyungsoo asks, both confused and cursing himself for being a stupid drinker.

“Hangover memory loss ?”

“Well, I didn’t really have time to try to remember since I woke up,” Kyungsoo states with a shrug, earning a whine from Baekhyun whose head gets joggled by the movement, “Sorry.”

Baekhyun hums, adjusting himself so he is using Kyungsoo’s shoulder as a pillow and clinging to his upper arm, apparently trying to get some extra minutes of well-needed sleep.  
Kyungsoo lets him do as he pleases, himself leaning on the wall behind him, eyes still closed as he tries to collect some memories from the party, through the drill piercing holes in his cranial cavity.  
It must look like Swiss cheese at this point.

He can still recall talking to Jongin a _lot_. Laughing with him, too, because he loves Jongin’s loud and goofy laughter. It sounds happy, and it’s extremely contagious. It makes him want to listen to the sound all day.

However, the images get blurry after a certain point of the evening, most likely coinciding with the increasing amount of alcohol in his system.

He remembers starting a burping contest with Junmyeon, Baekhyun and Taeil, another friend of Sehun who studies at Jongin’s school. And he remembers Eunji ending the drunken contest with the most melodic burp Kyungsoo had ever heard, one that had left all of them gaping at her.

He also recalls eating pastas, at some point, although he isn’t sure who cooked them. Probably to try and absorb the alcohol in his stomach. It didn’t work, obviously.

He remembers Sehun running around the living room with flailing arms and showing random guests how well he could twerk.  
He remembers Jongin leaning against him as he drunkenly laughed at his best friend tripping on the rug, and the blonde girl staring at them.

He remembers the hug Sehun gave him after Kyungsoo told him he was the best twerker ever in the history of twerk, tightly holding him and even lifting him off the ground for a few seconds.  
He thinks that’s around the moment Jongdae provided stronger alcohol for everyone, because his memories are even blurrier after that.

He vaguely recalls Baekhyun screeching, but doesn’t remembers why. He recalls Junmyeon scolding someone, and Chanyeol laughing, Seohyun and Joohyun spinning next to him.  
He recalls Jongin clumsily dancing and Jongdae falling.

He recalls Sehun trying to tell him something above the booming sound coming from the large speakers. He can’t remember what, though.  
And he thinks Eunji got into a heated argument with a broom around that time too.

He recalls drinking a fucking lot throughout all of that. Way more than he should have, considering how early he needed to get up today.

But then, through the blur, he remembers something else. Something messy and sloppy, but eager and fiery.  Something that tasted like rum.  
And Kyungsoo doesn’t like rum, but he thinks he didn’t mind.

Holy shit.

“Baekhyun…” he breathes, eyes opening and widening, “Baek !!!” he repeats, just as the woman voice announces his boarding gate is opening.

“Mmh ?” his best friend answers, probably already half asleep.

“I remember…” he exhales in a tense whisper, before jolting a bit straighter and grabbing the older’s arm, “Baekhyun, why do I remember kissing Jongin ?!!”

Baekhyun lifts his head and drowsily blinks at him for a few long, very long seconds, before eyeing him as if the answer was evident.

“Probably because you kissed him...”

“What ?!!”

Oh well, he’s magnificently fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so…  
> 1\. Please don’t kill me !  
> 2\. Seriously, don’t kill me !  
> 3\. PUT DOWN THE KNIVES !
> 
> As a side note, that cooking-together scene was planned soooo long ago, but hey, it matches with the pictures we got recently, right ?  
> Also…Baekhyun’s dreams with the aliens…yeah, that was a dream I actually had myself a while ago.  
> And yes, they were gonna chop of my dick, because for some reason I had one xD.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter !  
> Kyungsoo got himself an internship, Jongin got himself an injured ankle, and Baekhyun got himself a girlfriend !  
> What do you guys think of all this ?  
> Yes, I know, y’all still want to slap me for ending the chapter like that, don’t you ? Well, tell me about it too in the comments :P !!!!
> 
> And you can find me on Twitter (@Minty_Pixie) for updates !
> 
> ~Pixie~


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is only half of what was planned for this chapter, but it got too long to add more, so…yeah. New characters coming up.  
> They’re OCs, I hope you’ll like them ^-^.

*epic voice*

**Previously, on Mirrors !**

_He recalls drinking a fucking lot throughout all of that. Way more than he should have, considering how early he needed to get up today._

_But then, through the blur, he remembers something else. Something messy and sloppy, but eager and fiery.  Something that tasted like rum._

_And Kyungsoo doesn’t like rum, but he thinks he didn’t mind._

_Holy shit._

_“Baekhyun…” he breathes, eyes opening and widening, “Baek !!!” he repeats, just as the woman voice announces his boarding gate is opening._

_“Mmh ?” his best friend answers, probably already half asleep._

_“I remember…” he exhales in a tense whisper, before jolting a bit straighter and grabbing the older’s arm, “Baekhyun, why do I remember kissing Jongin ?!!”_

_Baekhyun lifts his head and drowsily blinks at him for a few long, very long seconds, before eyeing him as if the answer was evident._

_“Probably because you kissed him...”_

_“What ?!!”_

 

\--------

Kyungsoo eyes are fixed on Baekhyun, staring at him stupidly, because this can’t be real. This _has to be_ a joke.

“It’s not funny,” he breathes out, shaking his head and scrutinizing his best friend’s face for the smallest sign that this is indeed a prank.

But Baekhyun raises his brows, looking surprised.

“It was, actually,” he says, a smirk slowly stretching his lips, “Cause we’re not talking about a little peck, here,” he adds when Kyungsoo frowns, “More like a full make-out session !”

“What ?!!”

“I mean, it was kinda hot, the way you grabbed his collar and pulled him down ! But the amount of visible tongue-sucking was pretty gross, let’s be honest,” Baekhyun provides, oblivious to how his best friend started hyperventilating.

“Oh god. Oh no no no no…”

“You okay there ?”

“Baekhyun !”

“Kyungsoo ?”

“I can’t kiss him !” Kyungsoo says, loud enough for a middle-aged couple walking toward the departure gate to eye him curiously.

“You obviously _can_ , since you _did_ ,” Baekhyun chuckles, patting his shoulder.

“This is bad… This is so, _so_ bad !”

“Can I ask why ?”

“He’s… I just… Oh god, I can’t kiss him !”

“Okay, calm down,” Baekhyun says, _finally_ assessing Kyungsoo’s panicked state, “Come on, sit down and tell me what’s going on in your pretty head. Cause I’m confused. I thought you liked him…”

“I do ! I think ? I don’t know !!! Baek, I can’t kiss him !”

The woman’s voice echoes once more in the terminal, repeating that boarding has started for his plane, and Kyungsoo drops his head in his hands.

This is bad. This is so fucking bad that he doesn’t think there’s an existing word to describe how _bad_ it is !

“Yeah, you said that already. That doesn’t explain anything…” Baekhyun says, a hand on Kyungsoo’s back, sounding concerned now.

“We were drunk !”

“So, it’s about the way it happened. Not about you actually kissing him,” the older says, clearly trying to understand.

“No, it is !” Kyungsoo blurts out, scrunching his face in frustration as he curses himself for twelve generations.

Why the fuck must he be so stupid.

“Okay, I’m officially lost…”

“We’re not… I… Fuck ! I screwed up big time ! Again !”

He can’t believe he _kissed_ Jongin ! What happened to him ? Why did he do that ?  
He was supposed to leave for two months and try to forget the dancer !

Why did he have to get drunk ?! Why did he fucking kiss him ?

He’s always saying Baekhyun is an idiot, but clearly, he’s the stupid one here !

This is so, _so_ bad !

“Soo, seriously. Calm. Down.”

“How ?!!” he asks, and at this point he’s screaming and attracting the attention of all the people in line, ready to embark on the plane he should be boarding too _._

“It’s okay !”

“It’s not !!!”

“Oh my god !” Baekhyun groans out of frustration, “You guys kissed ! So what ?!” he asks, looking Kyungsoo straight in the eyes.

The younger stays silent, not even knowing how to start answering this.

“Look, I’m pretty sure you’ve been _wanting_ to kiss him for a while now, am I right ?”

“I… Yeah…” he admits, because at least this question is easy to answer.

“Then what’s the problem ? Are you afraid you forced him to kiss you ? Cause let me reassure you on that, he was _definitely_ kissing you back !” Baekhyun says with a very persuasive expression, “At some point Sehun and I were scared you’d both run out of air !”

“No, that’s not…” Kyungsoo starts, shaking his head, irritated by himself and the poor decisions he took.

“No, but really,” Baekhyun continues, nudging him, “He was holding you super close, and all ! I thought he wouldn’t let go !”

“I know…”

“You do ?”

“I remember parts of it…” he breathes, as the last announcement for boarding his plane booms in the airport.

Through the foggy blur of his memories, he can actually recall being surrounded by warm arms and pressed against a toned chest. It tasted like rum but smelled like vanilla and peppermint.

“Okay, so what ?” Baekhyun asks once more, glancing at the decreasing line in front of the gate, “Is it because of how drunk you both were ? You’re scared he kissed back only because of that ?”

“I don’t know !” Kyungsoo sighs because he really doesn’t.

He has no idea _why_ this is bad. He just knows it is.

“Look, you don’t have to make such a big deal out of it !” his best friend shrugs, nudging him again to make him stand, “Maybe he doesn’t even remember ! He wasn’t at Junmyeon’s place this morning. He and Sehun went back to campus a bit after you passed out on the couch,” Baekhyun adds, “The chicken was plastered out of his mind, too, so yeah… He could also not remember anything !”

Kyungsoo knows Baekhyun is trying to comfort him. He knows he must not be easy since even himself has not a clue about why he needs to be consoled.

What he does know, however, is that the idea of Jongin not remembering isn’t settling well in his mind.

At all.

And it must show on his face, because suddenly, Baekhyun is smirking.

“You _do_ want him to remember, right ?” he asks, rhetorically, as he wiggles his brows.

Kyungsoo’s only response is a sigh, and he leans down to grab his backpack containing everything to keep him busy for the twelve-hour flight.

“Just text him, Soo,” Baekhyun advises, “I mean, as soon as you get a new phone,” he adds, and Kyungsoo winces remembering the broken device inside his pocket, “Test the waters and see how it goes.”

“This is your fault,” Kyungsoo says without any bite, earning a laugh from his best friend.

“What did I do ?”

“I don’t know. But this is your fault anyway.”

“Okay, fine,” Baekhyun snorts, “It’s my fault, if it makes you feel better.”

“It doesn’t, but thanks,” he sighs yet again, making Baekhyun giggle.

“Sir ?” the stewardess attending to the boarding calls him, and he realizes every passenger has already embarked, “Are you booked on this plane ?” she asks with a professional smile.

“Yes, sorry !” he says, bowing a few times, “I’m screwed,” he throws towards Baekhyun, who pats his shoulder with an amused ‘ _There, there_ ’, before actually hugging him.

“You’ll be alright. Have fun, okay ?”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo answers, a smile eventually painting his lips, “Thank you,” he adds when they part.

“Now go conquer the world !” Baekhyun chants, smacking Kyungsoo’s butt to send him off.

And Kyungsoo doesn’t know if he wants to laugh because his best friend is so extra, or whine because Jongin had told him the exact same thing weeks ago.

 

♪♫

  
It’s almost 11pm when Kyungsoo finally climbs down the cab he took at the airport, paying the driver once the old man has helped him retrieving the two heavy luggage from the trunk.

The flight had been a pure nightmare, with a baby crying almost non-stop, intensifying his pounding headache, and the guy sitting beside him randomly mumbling incoherent words, completely freaking him out.

He then had to wait for thirty minutes in the baggage reclaim area, because one of his suitcases had mysteriously disappeared, then wait for an extra twenty-minute at the currency exchange counter to get his cash converted into pounds.

What a great start, really.

All he wants is to crawl in a bed and sleep until noon, but he forces himself to look as awake as he can before ringing the doorbell of the old house.

For a long moment, everything is silent. There is no light coming from the windows, and even the street is completely empty.

At least the neighborhood seems calm, he thinks, trying to stay optimistic.

He is about to push the bell a third time when the door finally opens. The person greeting him is not the one he expected, and for a few seconds, he wonders if he got the address right as he blinks at the young man in front of him.

Short blond hair, bright blue eyes, and just a tad taller than him, he is rather handsome, according to Kyungsoo’s gay standards. But he’s definitely not the old lady he’s renting the room from.

“Can I help you ?” the guy says with a polite smile and a strong accent Kyungsoo can’t pinpoint.

“Uhm…I’m looking for Mrs. Porter’s house ?” Kyungsoo answers, suddenly very conscious about his own accent.

“You found it.”

“I’m…renting one of her room ?”

“Oh !” the guy exclaims, grin turning brighter in recognition, “You’re our new housemate ! Come on in !” he says, before stepping outside and grabbing one of Kyungsoo’s suitcases, “Here, let me help you.”

“Thanks.”

“I’ll show you your room,” the blond then says, leading him through the house, “You were supposed to arrive earlier.”

“Ah, yeah, I got held in the airport.”

“It’s quite alright !” he gets reassured, “Margaret went to bed, though. It’s way past her curfew,” the guy says with a chuckle.

“Margaret ?”

“Mrs. Porter,” the blond explains, lifting the suitcase to climb upstairs, “She wants us to call her by her first name. Says it makes her feel young again,” he chuckles again, “That’s why she rents bedrooms to college students, I think !”

Kyungsoo only met the young man a few minutes ago, and he doesn’t even know his name, but the fondness in his voice when he speaks about the old lady is evident enough for him to assume he’s nice.

“Here it is, welcome home !” the man singsongs, opening one of the last doors in the hallway.

The first thought crossing Kyungsoo’s mind is about how blue everything is. The room has clearly been renovated recently, since the design is rather modern compared to how the first floor looked like. Pastel blue walls matching the bed cover and the heavy curtains, complimenting the light beige tone of the wooden floor and furniture, he immediately feels comfortable.

However, the second thought comes ruining everything.

The room smells like peppermint, probably from the candle he spots on the dresser that must have been lit earlier that day, to give a pleasant scent before his arrival.

He would appreciate the gesture, really. But images of Jongin are flashing in his mind, and he has to hold back a sigh and keep his face from falling.

‘ _Out of mind, out of sight_ ’ can apparently go fuck itself.

Karma hates him.

“You alright ?”

Shaking himself out of his mental pity party, Kyungsoo turns to the guy who is looking at him with a curious expression.

“Yeah, sorry,” he smiles with a nod, “I just remembered I broke my phone last night, but I need to tell my parents I’ve made it here safely,” he improvises.

It’s not exactly a lie. His mom nagged him and made him promise to contact her as soon as he’d get off the plane. She must be worried, so he _does_ need to find a way to reassure her.

“Oh that’s quite the bummer,” the guy winces, “I can give you the Wi-Fi password if you have a laptop ?”

“That’d be great, thank you…uhm…”

“Crap, sorry, I didn’t even introduce myself,” the blond laughs, before reaching his hand out, “I’m Rhydian.”

“Kyungsoo,” he answers, shaking the guy’s hand.

“I’m gonna need you to phonetically write that down…” Rhydian replies with a confused face, making Kyungsoo laugh and agrees to do so.

After scribbling the password on a piece of paper and handing it to Kyungsoo, Rhydian offers him yet another smile.

“I’ll let you settle down and sleep, you must be knackered,” his housemate says, continuing before Kyungsoo even has the time to ask what that last word even means, “We’ll talk tomorrow, and you’ll get to meet the girls.”

“Okay.”

“I’m glad to have another mate in the house,” Rhydian chuckles as he walks toward the door, “A girl was using this room before you, so I was more than outnumbered !”

“Well, I’m glad to bring some moral support, then !” Kyungsoo answers, deciding that he likes the guy.

He seems really easy to get along with, and at this point, this is the first thing going well today, so it’s a much-welcomed change.

“Margaret likes to cook breakfast for us around 10am on Sundays,” Rhydian tells him, walking backward through the doorway, “But she won’t mind if you sleep in, so don’t fret.”

“Alright.”

“Bathroom is the yellow door downstairs, restroom is the one next to it. Oh, and my room is right across yours in the hallway, so if you need anything, feel free to knock. I’m gonna watch a film so I won’t sleep until later.”

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo says, nodding with a smile, because he can really feel like they’ll become friends.

“No problem ! Goodnight !”

“Thanks, you too !” he wishes back just as Rhydian closes the door behind him.

Not feeling like unpacking tonight, Kyungsoo simply retrieves his laptop from its case and turn it on, connecting it right away to the house’s Wi-Fi to send an email to his parents.

Once he’s done, he opens Kakaotalk, taking a second to mentally thank the developer for creating a desktop version of the app, before getting assaulted by notifications of unread messages in his friends’ group-chat.

 

\--------------Saturday, July 1st--------------

03:23pm

 **Loey  
** _when is Kyungsoo’s plane supposed to land?_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _9pm_

 **Loey  
** _he isn’t answering my text_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _And he won’t. His phone passed away last night_

 **Loey  
** _shit_

 **Loey  
** _RIP_

 **DINODAE  
** _can t_ _believe he didn t even say GOODBYE_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _You were snoring on the couch like an overcooked potato_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _And he was in a rush anyway_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _Has someone seen my mom’s blow-dryer ?_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _Nope._

 **BunnyBacon  
** _Never seen it, never heard of it._

 **Jun Myeon  
** _?_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _:)_

\--------------Saturday, July 1st--------------

08:54pm

 **DINODAE  
** _can some tell Junymeon hyung to stop being annoying ?_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _I am right beside you, you know ?_

 **DINODAE  
** _I m aware_

 **DINODAE  
** _but I m not talking to you rn_

 **DINODAE  
** _you re being annoying_

 **Loey  
** _isn’t Kyungsoo supposed to be there already?_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _Didn’t Baekhyun say 9pm ?_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _Yeah, 9pm_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _Why ?_

 **Loey  
** _just curious_

 **DINODAE  
** _btw_

 **DINODAE  
** _does anyone know why I have a big bruise on my forehead ?_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _You faceplanted in the living room_

 **Loey  
** _it was epic !_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _Serves you right._

 **DINODAE  
** _I came out to have a good time and I m honestly feeling so attacked rn_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _The floor you landed on would say the same._

 

\--------------Saturday, July 1st--------------

9:17pm

 **Loey  
** _okay_ _WHERE IS KYUNGSOO????_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _Jeez ! Give him enough time to get to the house !_

 **Loey  
** _is it THAT far from the airport?_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _About half an hour drive, if he managed to get a cab_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _Around an hour if he had to use public transport_

 **Loey  
** _where’s the house he stays in?_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _In Canonbury_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _Why ?_

 **Loey  
** _am I not allowed to be CURIOUS?_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _Can someone explain to me why the blow-dryer was inside my grandmother’s birdcage on the upstairs balcony ?_

 **BunnyBacon  
** ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 **Loey  
** _omg xD_

 **DINODAE  
** _drunk Kyungsoo has a strong pun game holy shit !_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _Pun ? What pun ?_

 **BunnyBacon  
** ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 **Loey  
** _where is he doing his internship?_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _Abbey Road Studio ?_

 **DINODAE  
** _he s never gonna get it xD_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _Get what ?_

 **Loey  
** _and what is your grandma’s bird ?_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _A blackbird, why ?_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _Does it sing in the dead of night ?_

 **Loey  
** _yeah like, does it take its broken wings and learns to fly ?_

 **JunMyeon  
** _What ?_

 **BunnyBacon  
**_Fly into the light of the dark black night_ ♫♫♫ _?_

 **DINODAE  
** _I told you he s NEVER gonna get it unless you SPELL IT OUT FOR HIM_

 _**Loey** _ **_  
_ ** _we just did tho_

 **JunMyeon  
** _Can we come back to why that blow-dryer was there ?_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _I give up…_

 **Loey  
** _same_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _???_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _Guys ?_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _WHY WAS THE BLOW-DRYER THERE ?_

 **DINODAE  
** _drop it hyung_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _Why are you even still at my house, Jongdae ?_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _Go home._

 

\--------------Saturday, July 1st--------------

11:06pm

 **BunnyBacon  
** _Okay_ _WHERE IS KYUNGSOO ??????_

 **Loey  
** _OH NOW YOU’RE WORRIED?_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _THERE WAS NO REASON TO BE BEFORE_

 **Loey  
** _DID YOU CHECK FOR PLANE CRASHES ONLINE ??_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _DON’T JINX HIM OMFG_

  
Snorting as he reads the few messages that just popped up, Kyungsoo adjusts his laptop on his thighs and starts typing quickly.

  
**Kyungsoo  
**_I’m not dead yet_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _KYUNGSOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _Hey_

 **Loey  
** _YOU OKAY MAN ?????_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _yeah_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _struggled like hell to arrive here_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _but I’m in my new bedroom now_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _Is the owner nice ?_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _Did you meet your housemates ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I arrived like 15minutes ago, she was asleep_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _but yeah I met one of them_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _Rydian_ _? Rhydian ? Ridhian ? (not sure how it’s spelled)_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _he’s cool, I think we’ll get along_

 **Loey  
** _how about the two others ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _haven’t met them yet, but apparently both are girls_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _They better be nice or I’m flying to London to kick their ARSES_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I’m sure they are xD_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _Kyungsoo !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _hey hyung !_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _Did you put my mom’s blow dryer inside my grandmother’s birdcage ?_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _…_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _I have to go take a shower_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _x’DDDDD_

 **Loey  
** _LOL_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _talk to you guys tomorrow !_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _Okay !_

 **Loey  
** _gnight !_

 **Jun Myeon  
** _WHY WAS THAT BLOW DRYER THERE ?_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _RUN SOO ! RUN !_

 **Kyungsoo  
** _*gone*_

 **BunnyBacon  
** _With the wind !_

 **Loey  
** _from the blow dryer xD_

 

  
Exiting the group chat, Kyungsoo stares at his screen where all his conversations are listed, eyes instinctively falling on Jongin’s username.

His index fingers hovering above the laptop’s touchpad, he is about to click on it but ends up backing down. He got no message from the dancer, and ironically, _he_ is the chicken here, too afraid of what could happen. So he turns the computer off and hurriedly closes the lid a second after.

To avoid being tempted, he puts the device on the floor, and slides it under the bed just in case he forgets and steps on it the next time he stands. He’s already phoneless, it’d be nice if he didn’t have to also buy a new laptop.

With a sigh, he finally gets up and opens his suitcase, grabbing his toiletry, before exiting the room and going on a search for the yellow door downstairs.

 

♪♫

 

Kyungsoo’s first reflex when he wakes up is to grab his phone to check the time, only to remember seconds later that it’s dead, at the bottom of the front pocket of his suitcase. But judging by the sun entering the room and making it look like a picture from an interior design catalog, it must be late in the morning.

There are noises in the house, so he guesses people are already awake and going on with their day. Living alone, he tends to forget what it was to wake up to the sound of muted conversations and soft clatter coming from somewhere else in the house, only getting that feeling when he goes back to his childhood’s home for the holidays.

After stretching lazily, he finally gets up, quickly changing into comfortable clothes and heads downstairs, following the voices coming from what seems to be the kitchen.

“Hey, you’re up !” Rhydian greets him with a large smile as soon as he steps in the room, “Slept well ?”

“Yeah, thanks,” he grins back before looking to the right where a girl is half hidden by the open fridge’s door, apparently rummaging inside.

“Rhyd’, did you take my-” she starts, straightening up and halting her sentence when she spots Kyungsoo, “Oh, hi !”

“Hi…”

“You’re the new housemate, right ?” she asks, words tinged with an accent Kyungsoo can’t precisely pinpoint.

Eastern Europe sounds like an almost accurate guess, although her long chestnut hair and hazel eyes aren’t really helping on the glocalization matter.

“Yeah,” he nods, taking a few steps forward and reaching out to shake her hand, not sure what the protocol is just yet, “Kyungsoo,” he introduces himself, feeling tremendously awkward when she looks at his hand, clearly amused.

“Denitsa,” she eventually says, chuckling as she finally shakes his hand.

“Nice to meet you…”

“You can drop the formalities,” she replies with a giggle, “We’re going to live together for two months.”

“Alright.”

The word _awkward_ is blinking in neon light in Kyungsoo’s mind, but he forces himself to relax. She’s right, they’re going to see each other every day for two months, and she seems nice so far. No need to be tense.

“So, Margaret didn’t tell us much about you !” the girl says, closing the fridge with her hip after grabbing a yogurt, “Is there anything we should know ?”

“Uhm…like what ?”

“I don’t know… What do you study in college ? What do you do in your free time ? What’s your type of girl ?”

“Deni,” Rhydian says on a bored tone, giving her a pointed look.

“What ?” she says with an innocent smile.

“Excuse her,” the boy tells Kyungsoo, rolling his eyes, “She can’t help it.”

“What ?”

To say that Kyungsoo is confused would be an understatement. Clearly, it might take some time to get used to their interactions.

“Chatting up. She does that with every guy.”

“No, I don’t !” she protests, looking scandalized for a second, before her expression turns mischievous, “Only the cute ones,” she adds, winking at Kyungsoo who just laughs awkwardly.

“I study music,” he replies, choosing to ignore the topic, because in his mind, sexuality talk isn’t what people tend to talk about first, “I’m majoring in Composition.”

“That’s lush !” Rhydian exclaims, “So you play instruments ?”

“Well, yeah… That usually helps to compose,” Kyungsoo answers with a little laugh.

“You have to show us !” Denitsa excitedly says, her accent even more evident.

“Are you already tormenting our new guest ?” a female voice suddenly asks, right before a woman looking in her late seventies enters the kitchen.

Her grey hair is tied into a low braid, falling on her shoulder, almost matching the light faded blue of her eyes surrounded by wrinkles.

“No, I’m not,” Denitsa defends herself, nonchalantly eating her yogurt, “I’m just getting to know him. Right ?” she asks, looking at Kyungsoo.

“Uhm, no. I mean, yeah, she was just… She wasn’t tormenting me,” he answers, the _awkward_ neon back inside his head.

“Good,” the woman, Margaret, nods, “Are you hungry ?”

“I can…cook for myself…” he says, not wanting to be a bother, since the clock tells him it’s almost eleven.

“Nonsense ! I’ll prepare you something quick !” she says, waving her hand at him, “Nini, get him some tea, will you ?”

Kyungsoo’s mind blanks at the nickname, his brain automatically adding the word ‘ _poodle_ ’ right after, leaving him confused for a few seconds. Until Denitsa agrees in a melodic voice and grabs a cup in a cupboard.

 _Oh_.

Denitsa. Deni. Nini.

Right.

Nothing to do with Jongin.

Why would it have anything to do with Jongin ? Of course, it didn’t.

Just a nice old lady giving a cute nickname to a girl living under her roof !

Why did Kyungsoo’s mind even think about anything else ?

Denitsa. Deni. Nini.

Of course.

Cool.

“So, you didn’t answer !” the nickname-thief says, pouring water in a kettle.

“Mmh ?”

“What do you do for fun ?”

“Uhm… I hang out with my friends ? And we…play music sometimes ?”

“Okay, you definitely have to show us,” Rhydian tells him, “Do you have videos ?”

“I kinda…have a YouTube channel ?”

“What ?”

“Wait, seriously ?”

“That’s awesome !”

“How many subscribers do you have ?”

And really, Kyungsoo is familiar to these questions, so he isn’t usually surprised. But he can’t help his eyes from widening when the last one comes from Mrs. Porter.

His incredulity must show, because Rhydian snorts, lightly hitting his upper arm to make him stop staring.

“She’s good with social media,” the blond says, nudging his head towards the old lady, “She has a blog where she posts recipes. Got quite a big following !”

“Oh… Uhm, I reached five hundred thousand a week ago.”

“Sorry?!”

“Oh my! I had no idea I was hosting a famous young man!”

“I’m really not famous,” Kyungsoo awkwardly laughs again, waving his hands in front of him.

“Ah, our Kyungsoo must be so popular !” the old woman coos, looking at him rather fondly for someone she had just met, “Do you have a boyfriend, darling ?”

If Denitsa had been quicker getting the tea ready, and if he had been drinking at that precise moment, there is no doubt Kyungsoo would’ve spit the hot beverage right back out, and sprinkled the table with it.

But thankfully for the expensive looking wood, the girl had been slow, and Kyungsoo only chokes on air, eyes widening enough to fall off if someone slapped his back.

“W-wh-what ?”

“Uh… Margaret…” Rhydian hesitates, sounding just as shocked.

Oh well, apparently, sexuality talk would be tackled right away, after all.

“How do you… How do you know I’m…”

“At my age, I’ve seen many things, my dear,” the woman says with a delicate smile.

“Is it _that_ evident ?”

“No, it’s not !” Rhydian claims, “I didn’t know !”

“I didn’t either…” Denitsa adds.

“Don’t you dare being rude to our Kyungsoo, do you hear me you two ?”

“I didn't intend to !” Rhydian hastily answers, shaking his head, “I don’t care ! I mean, I don’t _mind_ ! …Sorry,” he finishing looking at Kyungsoo.

“It’s okay.”

“Sorry for flirting,” Denitsa says, and a glance towards her reveals her face looking like she’s torn between laughing and being embarrassed.

“Don’t worry about it. And uhm, no, I’m not dating anyone,” he tells Mrs. Porter.

“Being single is just fine,” she says, still grinning at him, “And who knows, maybe you’ll find yourself a sweetheart, here, this summer !”

In the back of his mind, Kyungsoo can’t help but think this could indeed be the opportunity to put an end to his stupid crush, but somehow, it doesn’t feel right. He tries to tell his brain to shut up, to stop nagging him and telling him it would be like _cheating_ because really, it’s not like he and Jongin had anything serious going on. Or anything _not_ serious, for that matter. But he ends up sighing when even scolding himself doesn’t shake the weird feeling out of his head.

While chewing on bacon and baked beans, he explains to the three of them what his internship is about. In return, he finds out that Rhydian, who is Welsh, is staying here for the summer break too because his parents went on an extended business trip, and that Denitsa didn’t go back home in Bulgaria either since she has to prepare for a big show given by her school.

“A show ?”

“Yeah, I got an important supporting role in the Nutcracker !”

“The…ballet ? You’re a dancer ?” he asks, eyes widening when she happily nods.

“I study at the Royal Ballet School.”

This is getting worse and worse. He is gonna have to live with a dancer, whose nickname is Nini.

For two months.

So much for getting Jongin out of his head.

“Do you like dancing ?” she asks, sipping on her own cup of tea.

“Uhm, not exactly ? I suck at it, to be honest, but I have a…friend, I mean, two friends who study dance too.”

“Really ?”

“Yeah. I even had to do a routine with one of them, for the winter session.”

“Wicked ! I wanna see that !” the girl exclaims with a giant smile.

“Uhm…let’s not,” he awkwardly chuckles.

“Smart choice,” Rhydian says next to him, “She would probably point out everything you do wrong.”

“No, I wouldn’t !”

“And then she’d proceed to correct every single movement until you can’t stand.”

“You make it sound like I‘m a monster…”

“Denistasaurus Rex has been unleashed ! Run for your life !” Rhydian says, pretending to be panicked as he grabs Kyungsoo’s arm.

“Ha ha, very funny.”

“That’s enough, you two,” Mrs. Porter gently scolds, “You’re going to scare him on his first day here.”

“Don’t worry,” Kyungsoo replies, smiling, “I’m used to it. My friends can’t stop bickering,” he adds, thinking about Baekhyun and Chanyeol constant squabbles.

“You say that now, but in a couple of weeks, you will be just as annoyed as Isabel is !” the woman laughs.

“Isabel ?”

“Our other housemate,” Rhydian explains, “She’s from Spain, came here to study law or something.”

“Where is she, by the way ?” Mrs. Porter inquires, taking Kyungsoo’s empty plate and placing it in the sink.

“Aaron came to pick her up, earlier this morning,” Denitsa provides, “It’s their eight-month anniversary. He had the whole day planned for the occasion.”

“He is a sweet boy,” the old lady smiles, “He loves her very much.”

“Yeah, but she’s still scared to tell her family.”

“I’m sure they will see he treats her right.”

“Okay, enough soppy talk !” Rhydian says, earning a scowl from Mrs. Porter, “We need to plan a city tour for Kyungsoo !”

“Oh, no, it’s okay,” he says right away, shaking his head, “It’s not my first time here.”

“Seriously ?”

Two beeps from the table grab their attention, and he amusedly watches Rhydian tap the screen of his phone with an eye-roll.

“Not you, Siri.”

“My older brother and I came on a trip to Europe a few years ago,” Kyungsoo answers, ignoring the interruption, “We spent three days in London.”

“Brilliant !” Rhydian exclaims, looking pleased, “We can skip the boring stuff and go straight to having some fun, then !”

“See, _that_ should be your cue to run for your life,” Denitsa tells him with a pointed look, making him laugh when Rhydian tries to flick her forehead, and she almost falls from her chair trying to dodge.

Watching them starting to bicker again under Mrs. Porter’s fond gaze, Kyungsoo relaxes.

Even if he didn’t want to admit it to himself, even less to others, he was anxious about having to stay in this house, not knowing if he would get along with his housemates. But clearly, he had been fretting unnecessarily.

“Are you serious ?” Rhydian scoffs at whatever Denitsa said.

_Beep beep._

“Bugger off, Siri !”

And the bursts of laughter echoing in the kitchen are more than enough to wipe away the last of his nerves. Everything will be fine.

 

♪♫

 

As he enters the house three weeks later, Kyungsoo can officially say he has completely adjusted.

It feels natural to place his backpack on the floor near the stairs before making a bee-line towards the kitchen, where the girls are chatting while making tea.

His internship is going perfectly. He had been afraid they were just gonna have him be the coffee-boy, and although that’s indeed what he was the first two days, they rapidly involved him into the orchestra recording there were working on.

Most of the time, he has to force himself not to stare in awe and try to be professional. But thankfully, his supervisor keeps looking amused to see him so fascinated, and it quickly became a joke amongst their team.

“Hey Bob !” Denitsa greets him when he enters the kitchen.

He rolls his eyes at the nickname she started giving him every now and then after they went on a shopping trip and she forced him to try on a t-shirt with that name written on it.  
According to her, it’s easier to pronounce than his actual name. Rhydian somehow turned it into a joke about someone’s uncle, but Kyungsoo got confused.

“Hey. So, how did it go ?” he asks Isabel, walking behind them to get to the cupboard where Margaret stores the biscuits.

“I got them on Skype,” the girl says with a sigh.

“And ?”

“They’re not really happy with me, at the moment,” she grimaces, grabbing three porcelain cups from the drying rack.

“I’m sorry,” he says, giving her shoulder a little squeeze as the three of them place everything on the table.

He can’t say he is surprised. When Isabel announced she was gonna tell her family about her boyfriend, he knew it wasn’t going to be easy. From what she told him, her parents are rather strict, and back when she lived with them, she had never been allowed to date.

Looking at her, though, she must have had quite the number of opportunities. With round brown eyes, and shoulder-length dark hair delicately framing her bronze-skinned face, he can objectively admit she is beautiful, even if he’s not into girls.

“The worst is, they don’t dislike him for the reason I thought they would !” she explains, rolling her eyes, “My mom literally said “ _You went all the way from Andalucía to England to find yourself an **American**_ _boy ?_ ”

“Ouch,” Denitsa winces at the harsh words.

“I had to remind her I came here to _study_ , and I just happened to meet him.”

“So, they disapprove because he is _American_ ?” Kyungsoo asks, raising a brow at the absurdity.

“Mostly, yeah. I showed them a picture... My sisters think he’s too blond.”

“Wow… And you were afraid to have religious issues,” Denitsa says, looking just as baffled as Kyungsoo feels.

“Apparently, being from a country that elected Trump, is worse than not believing in God.”

“I mean…”

Kyungsoo can’t help but chuckle when he sees the look Denitsa is sending to Isabel, seemingly considering it to be a valid reason, if only to tease her.

“Shut up,” Isabel laughs, elbowing her, “To be honest, I’m glad I did this alone. He wanted to be here but… I mean, my mom was _pissed_. She would’ve slapped him through the screen if he had been with me.

“I’m sure they’ll come around,” Kyungsoo tries to reassure her, “He loves you like crazy. It’ll be okay once they realize that”

“Yeah, I hope so…”

“Blimey ! What’s with the long faces ?”

Startled by the loud voice, Kyungsoo turns his head to see Rhydian come in the room, getting his back smacked by Denitsa when he tries to ruffle her hair.

“We knew you were about to arrive,” she tells him, sticking her tongue out when he gives her the middle finger.

“So ! It’s Friday !” Rhydian exclaims as he seats next to Kyungsoo, “Who’s up for a night out ?”

“Can’t. I have to be up at six tomorrow, for rehearsal.”

“Sorry, I’m seeing Aaron later.”

“That’s rubbish, you girls are such party-poopers,” Rhydian scoffs, before turning to look at Kyungsoo with eager eyes.

“Uhm…yeah, sure. I just have to skype Baekhyun real quick, but after that, no problem.”

“Brilliant ! That’s sorted, then ! Tell him I said Hi ! We leave the ship at eight o’clock !”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo laughs, shaking his head when Rhydian leaves the room humming Pirates of the Caribbean’s theme song.

“He’s gonna get legless again, you know that, right ?” Denitsa asks him, looking entertained.

“Yeah. Bob will turn into Sam, I guess.”

“You’re too nice with him.”

“His boss has been a dick, lately,” Kyungsoo says with a shrug, “He needs to blow off some steam.”

“At least try not to let him make a fool out of himself, this time,” Isabel chuckles.

“I can’t promise anything,” he answers with a laugh as he gets up, “I tried to stop him, last weekend, but it was too late.”

“His chat-up lines are lethal,” Denitsa says, tidying up the table.

“It’s a good thing he wasn’t conscious enough to realize how embarrassing he was,” Kyungsoo says, starting to wash their teacups in the sink.

  
Back in his room a few minutes later, he checks the time on his new phone to make sure it’s not too late yet in Korea, before turning his laptop on. Baekhyun is already online when Skype finally decides to launch, so he opens the chat and clicks on the video-call icon.

Face pixelated, his best friend appears after a few seconds and greets him in a loud voice.

“London Boy”! Glad to see you haven’t forgotten about me, this time !”

“I didn’t forget last time either, Baek,” he says, rolling his eyes, “I told you I came home late, it was the middle of the night for you.”

“Yeah, _right_ … Whatever you say,” Baekhyun chuckles, showing he is not as mad as his words could hint, “So, what’s up ?”

“Nothing much,” Kyungsoo shrugs, even if the connection is too bad to show his movement without lagging, “I should be the one asking that. What was that message you sent me earlier ?”

He had been rather surprised when a kakaotalk notification popped up during his lunch break, and he had read Baekhyun’s words, asking him to call later, because he had, quote, “ _something important to tell him…_ ”

“That was just to make sure you wouldn’t _forget_ ,” his best friend laughs, but Kyungsoo doesn’t buy it.

“What’s going on, Baekhyun ?”

And if the sigh he can hear coming out of his speakers is any indication, he was right not to believe him.

“I think I’m gonna break up with her.”

“Wh-... Joohyun ?”

“Yeah…”

“Why ?” he asks, a bit hesitant.

And he hasn’t been around for almost a month, now, but somehow, he can easily come up with an answer to his own question.

She seems to really like Baekhyun. And maybe that’s where the problem lies. She likes him _too much_ , while Baekhyun...doesn’t.

“I don’t know. She’s growing too attached. And for some reason, it doesn’t feel right.”

Of course, it doesn’t. His best friend doesn’t seem to realize why he started dating her in the first place. Kyungsoo can’t say it comes as a surprise to hear him backtrack, now that he figured out her affection for him.

“It’s like I’m leading her on, and I… I don’t know.” Baekhyun continues, and Kyungsoo offers him a small smile.

He wishes he could be with him, right now. It would be easier to cheer him up. But he is on another continent, and he knows as soon as the call ends, Baekhyun will be on his own, thinking about it all over again.

He feels bad for Joohyun, but it’s not like he ever thought it would work between her and Baekhyun. Sooner or later, his best friend would’ve had to realize he was with her for the wrong reasons.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’re taking the right decision,” he says, not wanting to openly say he had seen it coming, but still trying to be supportive.

“She’s great.”

“I know.”

“…I feel like a jerk.”

“You’re not,” Kyungsoo says, shaking his head and watching the movement show up on the small screen with a few seconds of delay, “I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“Understand what ? I don’t even know what explanation to give her…”

Taeyeon.

This is the only explanation that would make her understand.

But Kyungsoo can’t find it in himself to voice it out, when Baekhyun is still not even aware that she is the reason for his reaction.

Sadly, there is not much he can say to help. Joohyun is going to be sad no matter how Baekhyun handles the breakup.

“Just…be honest with her. Even if you have to say that you don’t know why it doesn’t feel right,” he advises, watching the 240p version of Baekhyun’s expression fall, “It’ll still be better than coming up with a lie.”

She deserved to be told the truth. And somehow, Kyungsoo feels that she will figure out the real reason. She did say she had noticed Baekhyun a while ago. It means she knows about Taeyeon, and she had probably seen them together often. After witnessing their relationship, it wouldn’t be hard for her to connect the dots.

“Yeah, I guess… But hey, enough talk about me !” Baekhyun suddenly says, straightening on his bed, “What’s wrong with _you_ ?”

“Me ?”

“Yes !”

“Uhm...nothing ?” Kyungsoo replies, raising a brow.

What was that abrupt change of mood ?

“Soo… I saw the chicken, two days ago…”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘ _oh’,_ exactly,” Baekhyun says, his tone turned scolding, “He asked _me_ how _you_ were… You said you were gonna talk to him !”

“Well...I haven’t...really...found the time to-”

“That’s bullshit !” his best friend interrupts him, “You didn’t even message him even _once_ ! Sehun told me !”

“Well, he didn’t text me either,” Kyungsoo tries to defend himself.

That’s not exactly a topic he wants to linger on. He has spent the last three weeks avoiding to even think about it.

In vain, of course. His brain keeps nagging him again and again, yet not suggesting any way to handle the situation.

He fucked up. Big time. And although he should be used to screwing everything up when it comes to Jongin, he can’t help but think that this time, it’s even worse.

But he also finds it unfair that Baekhyun seems to be putting all the blame on him. If Jongin kissed him back like his best friend said he did, then couldn’t he have messaged him too ?  
Why should Kyungsoo be the one who has to fix everything, when there were _two_ creating that mess ?

It’s not that he doesn’t want to talk to Jongin. He just has no idea what he is supposed to tell him.

And he hates that feeling on déjà vu, bringing him a few months back.

Except that, this time, it is not only his fault.

“You two are giving me a headache,” Baekhyun sighs, “Sehun is annoyed too, by the way.”

“Well, maybe Sehun should mind his own business. And so should you.”

“Maybe we would if you guys weren’t acting so stupidly !”

“Look, I really don’t wanna talk about it, now, okay ?” Kyungsoo says, closing his eyes for a second, “I gotta go. I have to help to get dinner ready.”

“Fine ! Will you at least come to the Kakao group-chat later ? The guys want to talk to you. I’m tired of being to one telling them what you’re up to.”

“I can’t. I’m going out with Rhydian.”

“Oh great. Go have fun with your new friends, then !” Baekhyun says, audibly irritated, “Since they’re clearly more important than us, now !”

And Kyungsoo loves his best friend. He really does. But the tone, added to all the remarks he made, ends up pissing him off.

“You're not fair, you know ?” he says in a harsh voice, “Yes, I made new friends. And I’m _here_ , with _them_ , at the moment. It doesn’t mean I’m forgetting you guys. But I also gotta live !” he continues with a frown, “You can’t expect me to stay locked in my room and glued to my laptop.”

Another sigh comes out of his speakers, and he watches Baekhyun run a pixelated hand on his face.

“I know. Sorry.”

“Rhydian says Hi, by the way,” he adds bitterly, because the blond had wanted to be friendly, and Baekhyun had come to Kyungsoo with a fucking jealous attitude.

It takes a few seconds before he hears Baekhyun tiredly chuckle.

“Tell him Hi, too.”

He is about to answer when he hears Margaret’s voice calling his name from downstairs.

“I will,” he rapidly nods, “Listen, I have to go. I’ll call you sometime this weekend, alright ?”

Baekhyun hums slowly, before pausing, looking uneasy even in low resolution.

“Soo, I’m sorry. For real.”

“It’s okay, don’t fret about it. We can have a group Skype session, tomorrow, if the guys want to.”

“Yeah, I’ll tell them.”

A minute later, Kyungsoo is shutting his laptop and sliding off the bed with a sigh. He doesn’t like fighting with Baekhyun, but his best friend has been acting that way since the end of his first week here, when Kyungsoo finally started feeling a bit more comfortable in his new environment. And the more he adjusted, the bitter Baekhyun was.

Of course, it sucks that Kyungsoo can’t be with him when he’s going through a hard time, questioning his relationship. But it’s unfair to make him feel guilty for enjoying his time here. Especially considering Baekhyun had been the most supportive when Kyungsoo told him he had applied for an internship in London.

A new call of his name, this time coming from Isabel, forces him to shake his thoughts away, and after pocketing his phone, he finally makes his way downstairs.

 

♪♫

 

It’s barely 8:30pm when Kyungsoo follows Rhydian inside the bar the blond chose as their first stop.

If it goes like last Friday, it’s only the beginning of a long series of different places, since Rhydian has decided early on that Kyungsoo needed to visit as many as possible during his two-month stay.

This one has a typical wannabe-hipster vibe that has Kyungsoo snorting as soon as he walks through the door. But he was promised their beer tastes fantastic, so he decides he can ignore the Birkenstocks-and-beanie paradox, the kale-and-avocados combo some girls are snacking on, and the amount of facial hair on half of the guys. Although, now he understands why Denitsa forced a pair of fake glasses on his nose when she heard where they were going, earlier.

The Black Keys’ song playing in the background is good, though, so he focuses on that.

They’re supposed to be joined by two of Rhydian’s college classmates, a bit later. Kyungsoo met them the week before, and although they’re a bit too narrow-minded for his taste, they’re still a good company, as long as they don’t dive into serious topics.

It doesn’t take long for him to relax from the tension his conversation with Baekhyun brought, and after two pints of beer, he finds himself laughing freely at Rhydian’s silly jokes.

“Okay, don’t look, but there’s a girl that keeps looking at us on that table over by there,” the blond says with a subtle nudge of his head to the side.

Automatically, Kyungsoo starts turning his head, only to be slapped on the arm by Rhydian.

“I said _don’t look_!!”

“Alright !” Kyungsoo laughs, shaking his head, “Chill, I won’t.”

“She’s super pretty. I think she’s Asian…” Rhydian says, quickly glancing to his right before raising an eyebrow at Kyungsoo, his lips curving up in a smirk, “You know what that means ?”

“That you have a weird racial fetish ?” Kyungsoo answers with an amused snort before taking a sip of his third beer.

“No, it means you’re gonna help me !”

“Help you for what ?”

“Language barrier, just in case. But also, have you ever played wingman ?”

Once again, Kyungsoo can’t help but chuckle.

Rhydian is just as obnoxious and carefree as Baekhyun is. That’s probably why Kyungsoo clicked so easily with him. He isn’t confused or annoyed. He’s used to it, knows how to deal with it.  
And just that question is proving how alike they both really are.

“Yeah,” he nods, rolling his eyes, “With Baek.”

He still remembers the first time Baekhyun saw Taeyeon and asked Kyungsoo to stay around in case he needed him. In the end, the older managed just fine on his own but still requested Kyungsoo to follow them incognito on their first official date.

He didn’t, though. Baekhyun watched way too many chick flicks.

“Brilliant. I really think she wants to come and talk to me,” Rhydian tells him, once again peeking at where the girl is apparently seated, “So, get ready.”

“Okay…”

“She’s coming !”

For the umpteenth time, Kyungsoo laughs, before he finally looks to the side.

And if he had been sipping on his drink, the beer would have undoubtedly gone down the wrong pipe the moment his eyes land on her.

“Wh-... Noona ?”

“Hey Kyungsoo…”

 _Oh fuck_.

“What are you doing here ?” he asks, stupidly blinking at her.

“Wait, you know each other ?” Rhydian blurts out, sounding just as confused as he looks when Kyungsoo glances at him.

“Uhm, yeah, she’s…”

How the hell is he supposed to introduce her ?!

“A friend… From school,” he says hesitantly, looking back at her and getting an awkward smile as only reaction.

“I’m Taeyeon.”

Kyungsoo watches her offering her hand for Rhydian to shake, wondering what on earth is happening.

“So… Uhm…”

“I’m here for work,” she tells him with that kind smile he knows so well, “One of our artists is going to record his album in Abbey Road Studio.”

“Wait, what ?”

_What. The. Actual. Fuck._

Sure, he knows she left South Korean because she got offered an internship in a big music production company, but he never imagined things were going amazingly enough for her to be sent on overseas trips like that.

And really, what were the chances she would end up here, right when _he_ is ?

“I something wrong ?” she asks, making him snap out of his thoughts.

“No, it’s just… I’m interning at Abbey Road Studio… That’s why I’m here. I’m spending the entire summer here.”

“I know,” she nods with that little laugh he hasn’t heard in so long.

“How-...”

“You talked about it on social media.”

“Oh… Right.”

Can it get even more awkward ? Probably not.

A minute ago, he was thinking about Baekhyun’s and her first meeting, and now she’s there, standing in front of his table.

Great.

By some miracle, the expression ‘ _saved by the bell_ ’ proves its meaning the second Rhydian’s phone beeps, and the blond tells him his friends are waiting for them at the nearest tube station.

“Alright. Uhm...sorry, we have to…” he trails, looking at Taeyeon as he vaguely points his thumb towards the front door.

“It’s fine ! I’m here for a week,” she grins, “We’ll get to see each other.”

“Yeah… Okay… Uhm, bye, then !”

She bids him a good evening, with that same smile still etched on her lips. But as he walks away and throws a glance towards her, he notices her expression fell, now she isn’t in front of him anymore.  
She’s staring at the floor, and even in the dim lighting, he can see her shoulder drop in a sigh.

That encounter must’ve been weird for her too.

“Okay, what was _that_ ?” Rhydian asks a minute later, as they cross a street.

Kyungsoo sighs.

“Remember when I said I already played wingman ?”

“Yeah ?”

“It was her. The girl Baekhyun was trying to flirt with.”

“Oh... That’s awkward.”

“You have no idea,” Kyungsoo says, “They dated for four years.”

“Blimey !”

“She broke up with him six months ago. Flew to America to start an internship.”

The more information he gives, the wider Rhydian’s eyes are opening. And he can’t blame him, really.

“It was a mess. _He_ was a mess.”

“Are you gonna tell him ? That you saw her ?”

“I don’t know… I’m not sure it would do any good. I mean, he pretends he’s fine, but…”

Kyungsoo shakes his head, sighing once again as his earlier conversation with Baekhyun comes back in his mind.

Here’s to one more thing he has no clue how to handle.

 

♪♫

  
When he calls Baekhyun the next day, and the older asks him if his night out was fun, Kyungsoo only tells him about Rhydian’s friend almost getting punched by a guy he spilled his drink on.

He doesn’t particularly enjoy lying to his best friend, but he can’t see how the conversation could end up in a positive note if he tells him what happened.

And the discussion he has with Taeyeon five days later in the lunch break room only reinforces his decision.

“Kyungsoo ?”

“Mmh ?”

“Can I ask you something ?”

“Of course,” he nods, munching on his sandwich.

He should’ve seen it coming, really. But he didn’t, and a few seconds later, he has to force his mouthful down his tense throat.

“How… how is he doing ?

She doesn’t have to specify. He knows exactly who she is talking about. He is also aware that a very drunk and sad Baekhyun blocked her on every social media he is on, months ago.

It makes sense she would jump on the occasion of having his best friend here to ask.

And somehow, he knows she doesn’t want him to lie.

“He’s...trying his best,” he says, after marking a pause to look for the right words.

She hurt Baekhyun, he knows that. But she’s still his friend, and he doesn’t want to be unnecessarily harsh with her.

Kyungsoo watches her nod as she takes a sip of her sparkling water.

There is something inside her eyes. He can’t pinpoint what it is, but it makes him uneasy and pushes him to ask in return, trying to sound more nonchalant than he really feels.

“What about you ?”

Sadness.

He recognizes it, now. It flashes through her eyes and tints the smile she offers him.  
It’s so similar to the one he has seen on Baekhyun’s face so many times in the last months, that he almost takes his question back, not wanting to hurt her.

She looks down at her hands, and with a quick glimpse in the same direction, Kyungsoo notices her fingers are playing with a bracelet around her wrist.

The one Baekhyun got for her birthday, last year.

“I’m trying my best,” she merely says, her lips slightly trembling for a second.

What is he even supposed to say, now ?

He would like to blame her, to tell her she was the one who left, and that she doesn’t get to act so heartbroken. But there’s this fragility coloring her voice and glazing her eyes, and he can’t help but reach out to grab her hand.

It seems like he doesn’t need to say anything, though, and before long, she sighs and starts talking again.

“I didn’t know how to tell him,” she begins, visibly swallowing around the knot in her throat, “And the more days passed, the less I knew just _how_ to have that conversation.”

Kyungsoo nods, gently squeezing her fingers. He doesn’t like hearing the tremor in her tone.

“I knew he would’ve said that we could still be together, even if we were far away from each other, but...it didn’t feel fair,” she continues, shaking her head, the artificial light glistening in her watery eyes, “For me, and for him… So I thought a clean break up would be the easiest way of ending things. I knew he would be hurt, but…”

“...You were hoping he would be mad,” Kyungsoo finishes for her when she pauses, “Mad enough to move on.”

The answering nod he gets makes his heart pang. For her. For Baekhyun. For the love they had for each other, and obviously still have.

“Is he...dating someone ?” Taeyeon asks a bit later in a small voice, avoiding his eyes.

Kyungsoo’s hands freeze as he washes his coffee mug in the sink.

“I don’t think you really get the right to ask this,” he tells her, as gently as he can.

There is still a sad tinge in his voice, even _he_ can hear it.

“I know,” she replies in a breath, and Kyungsoo, once again, can’t help but sigh.

Baekhyun is planning on breaking up with the girl, but he is not sure this is something he should disclose. Yet, it doesn’t feel right to lie and tell her he is in a happy relationship.

So he settles with the best answer he can think of

“Well, for what it’s worth...she looks a lot like you.”

The chuckle she lets out isn’t a happy one. But at least, it prevents the tears from breaching.

And this time, he gets to tell her goodbye, when she leaves at the end of the week.

 

♪♫

 

August arrives before he knows it, and it feels weird to think half of his time here has already passed.

But it’s even worse when he thinks he still hasn’t talked to Jongin.

If anything, talking with Taeyeon confused him even more. For a moment, he had thought about sending a message to the dancer, telling him he was sorry, and clearly stating it wouldn’t happen again.

A ‘ _clean breakup’_ as Taeyeon had called it, although he and Jongin never dated, to begin with.

But seeing how she was still struggling so much made him rethink the idea. Clearly, this was not gonna work.

Which is why he finds himself in front of his computer on a Thursday night, staring at his screen when YouTube’s autoplay switches to the sixth video from Jongin’s channel.

Throughout the month, the younger has put up a series of vlog to show people the progress he made day after day, as he recovered from his injury and started dancing again.

The comment section is full of encouraging words from thousands of people, and Kyungsoo wishes so badly he could offer the same support to Jongin. Yet, his fingers stayed glued in his lap as he watches him smile to the camera, taking place in the center of the practice room.

His hair is electric blue, now.

To say he is annoyed with himself would be an understatement. But there is still that little voice in the back of his mind, telling him Jongin could’ve messaged him too if he had really wanted to know how Kyungsoo was.

But there was no new message from the dancer, except from that one notification he got the week before when Jongin liked his last Instagram post.

The picture was nice, showing him with his three housemates. Denitsa on his left, an arm around his shoulder, trying to pinch Rhydian’s cheek, who was pretending to puff out his chest as he stood on his right, while Isabel was trying to make an ugly face, tongue poking out and eyes crossed – she ended up looking cute anyway.

He still recalls how Margaret tried to get them to be serious, behind her camera. It didn’t work, and the old woman ended up laughing along with them when Denitsa leaned too much on Kyungsoo to reach Rhydian, and they both tripped and crashed on the blond.

A lot of people liked and commented on this picture, as well as the myriad of others he posted since he got here. But seeing Jongin’s username in the long list of notification had made him feel _guilty_.

Which is stupid, he knows that. Jongin had done the same on his own account.

Why should he feel bad for having fun, really ?

But he still can’t stop thinking about it, and it irks him more and more each day.

When the choreo comes to a term on his screen, his hands are still motionless, ready to let YouTube play the next one by itself, but a knock on his door forces him to finally move, pausing the video right before it ends.

A few seconds later, Denitsa’s head comes into view.

“Kyungsoo ?”

“Oh, hey.”

“Are you okay ?”

“Yeah ? Why ?”

“I called you three times from downstairs…”

“Oh. Sorry, I had a video playing,” he answers, vaguely pointing at his laptop, “I didn’t hear you.”

“It’s okay,” she reassures him, before marking a pause, eyeing him, “Can I come in ?”

“Sure.”

After stepping inside and closing the door behind her, Denitsa walks towards the desk next to the bed and sits on the chair, without taking her eyes off of him. She is still in her dance practice clothes, with her typical tight bun on top of her head.

“Are you sure you’re okay ?”

“Yeah,” he nods, trying to focus on her, and not on the close up of Jongin’s face.

Of course, he had to pause it right when the younger was in the middle of blowing a kiss to the camera.

“I’m just… Yeah, I’m fine.”

His smile is a bit forced, but hopefully, she won’t notice.

“You know, despite what Rhyd’ likes to tell everyone, I’m _not_ a bitch,” she says with an eye roll.

Well, clearly, she did notice. But despite her light tone and the chuckle he lets out, he can see she’s not joking.

“What I mean is...you can talk to me.”

“I know,” he says, because he genuinely does.

She is a lot to handle, but she never gave Kyungsoo any reason to distrust her. He has only known her for a month, but he was able to see rather quickly she was a great friend. A little whiny, sometimes, incredibly blunt, too, but adorable nonetheless.

When he doesn’t answer, though, Denitsa ends up sighing, bringing her bare feet up on the chair and circling her arms around her knees.

“If it’s a _boy_ problem,” she says, emphasizing the word with a pointed look, “I might be more helpful than Rhydian. You know, being a straight girl and all… I mean, he would tell you to get the guy some flowers or a necklace,” she adds with a silly face.

“Yeah, he probably would,” Kyungsoo can’t help but laugh, because it sounds exactly like Rhydian to do this.

“So…”

“It’s okay,” he says, shaking his head after releasing yet another sigh, as if it’s the only thing his body can do, now, “I mean, it’s not, but... I just need to find a way to...fix a mistake I made.”

She stares at him, her eyes slightly squinted, but just when he thinks she is gonna try to probe again, a smile appears on her lips, and she nods.

“Okay. But if you need help, my room is right next door,” she offers with a shrug.

“Thank you.”

“No problem,” she says, her grin widening before she stands and starts walking to the door.

Before she makes it, though, she halts her steps and turns around, and Kyungsoo looks at her questioningly.

“Can I ask one last question ?”

“Uhm, sure.”

“Is it about the dancer we talked about when you arrived ?”

And really, Kyungsoo would’ve liked to think he was good at masking his emotions. But the way her smile turns mischievous when his eyes bulge out proves he is not.

“Wh- You- How did you…” he stutters, watching her chuckle and shrug again.

“It was just something in the way you said the word ‘ _friend_ ’, that day.”

”Oh…”

“Don’t worry, I can keep a secret,” she tells him with a wink, before walking backward towards the door, “Dinner’s on the making. Margaret is testing one of her new recipes. We’re the guinea-pigs before she posts it on her blog !”

“Does she need help ?” he asks, just remembering Denitsa told him she called his name several times before coming up.

“No, it’s okay. She needed milk, but she sent Rhyd’ to the supermarket,” the girl reassures him, “Just come down in half an hour, everything should be ready.”

“Alright,” he nods as she opens the door, “And uhm...thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” she replies as she leaves, clearly knowing why he is thanking her.

Dinner thankfully cheers his mood up, thanks to Rhydian annoying the hell out of Aaron, who was invited by Margaret to stay, since he came to visit Isabel. And amongst the happy laughter, Kyungsoo almost manages to forget how bad he felt.

Almost.

He still ends up staring at Jongin’s contact name on his phone screen, for way too long before falling asleep, the device lightly glowing in the dark room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can already hear the complains, so let’s get things clear right away in case you still haven’t noticed : yes kaisoo is part of the fic, but this is still a Kyungsoo-centric story !
> 
> Also, yes it took a while, but I spent the last couple of months working my ass off to write my Exogeddon fest fic, so Mirrors had to wait a little.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter nonetheless, as well as the new characters.  
> Like I said at the beginning, it’s only half of what I had originally planned for this chapter (it was supposed to cover the two months, but I got carried away), so the OC’s will be there next chapter too (I don’t mind, it’s fun to (try to) use British and Welsh slang, not gonna lie).
> 
> Talk to me in the comment ? I can’t know what you guys think if you don’t tell me xD !
> 
> You can find me on Twitter, AFF and CuriousCat, my username is Minty_Pixie everywhere !  
> Have a nice weekend, everyone !
> 
> ~Pixie~


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You’ve all been very frustrated at Kyungsoo, huh ? Well, I was planning on ending the frustrating part here, but seeing how you guys put all the blame on him… I mean, I’ve stated a few times that he isn’t comfortable with online interactions, and last time he literally had to see Jongin in person for the problem to be solved. But if y’all don’t want to realize that this is who he is and want him so bad to go against his personality….well, don’t blame me for giving you something to be really frustrated about xD !  
> I don’t usually change my plans, but….heh, you’ve brought this on yourselves xD !

Two weeks later, it’s yet to another bickering session between Denitsa and Rhydian that Kyungsoo enters the living room.

“Why are you _always_ doing that ?”

“It’s not my fault if you didn’t watch that film,” the girl shrugs with a little laugh, “It’s _old_ , and it’s a classic ! How was I supposed to know you never saw it ?”

“Just stop giving out bloody spoilers !”

Kyungsoo’s chuckle grabs their attention, and a second later, he ends up being involved in the argument, as he makes his way towards the couch.

“Did _you_ see Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind ?” Denitsa asks him when he sits next to her.

“Of course,” he replies easily, laughing again when Rhydian groans.

“See ? Even _Kyungsoo_ watched it !”

“What’s that supposed to mean ?”

“His best friend is majoring in Film Directing !” Rhydian counters.

“He wasn’t the one who made me watch it, though.”

“Ha !!”

“Why are you _always_ teaming up with her ?!”

“I’m not !”

“He’s not !”

“He is,” Isabel laughs, walking out of the kitchen, Margaret right behind her, a tray in her hands.

“Told you !”

“But even _I_ saw that movie, so…” Isabel trails, clearly amused.

“So have I,” Margaret adds, and Kyungsoo can’t once again help but laugh with everyone when Rhydian releases a loud wail.

“It’s not a reason to give out spoilers !” he whines, crossing his arms.

“I didn’t say anything that is not in the trailer, though !”

“You talked about Nietzsche !”

“Well, they quote him in the movie,” Kyungsoo says, just because it’s fun to see Rhydian getting annoyed.

Just like it’s fun to see Baekhyun get frustrated when they argue. He and Rhydian are really similar.

“That’s called a spoiler !”

“ _Blessed are the forgetful, for they get even the better of their blunders_ ,” Margaret recites with a smile, chuckling when the four youngers turn surprised eyes towards her, “Is that not the right quote ?”

“It is !” Denitsa chirps with a blinding smile.

“Yeah, well...in Titanic, Jack dies !!” Rhydian exclaims.

It takes a few seconds, a snort from Isabel, and a glance at Rhydian’s proud face, before Kyungsoo realizes the blond just tried to get revenge on all of them by giving out the stupidest spoiler of all time.

Seems like Rhydian is a lot like Chanyeol, too.

“On the clever comeback efficiency scale, that was at ‘ _seriously-stop-it’s-ridiculous_ ’ out of ten,” Isabel deadpans, placing filled teacups in front of everyone on the coffee table.

Kyungsoo doesn’t try to hide his laugh, even when Rhydian sends them all a glare.

“Anyway,” the blond says, rolling his eyes before looking at Kyungsoo, “Drew called me earlier. He’s housing a party next weekend at his place. He asked if we wanted to come.”

“At his parents’ house ?” Denitsa says before Kyungsoo can answer, “Is he planning a _pool_ party ? ‘Cause that sounds like a disaster ready to happen.”

“That’s just because you don’t know how to have fun without wearing your pointe shoes,” Rhydian counters with an amused scoff.

“Tell me that when Kyungsoo finds you dead at the bottom of the pool,” she retorts, sticking her tongue out, “After your drunk arse _drowned_.”

“Whatever. You weren’t invited, anyway.”

“That’s ‘cause I don’t like Drew. And he doesn’t like me either.”

“Because you’re a prat !” Rhydian snorts, getting scolded by Margaret the next second.

“Cause _he_ is a _tosser_ !”

“Enough, you two,” Margaret interrupts them, “Can an old lady enjoy her tea without you youngsters bickering, now ?”

Amused, Kyungsoo watches them both mutter an apology and settle deeper in the large couch. Thankfully for them, though, the Margaret doesn’t catch Denitsa subtly pinching Rhydian’s thigh, nor the choked squeal he lets out.

“I’m up for it,” Kyungsoo says, hoping it’ll make them stop.

Margaret is sweet and indulgent, but you do _not_ want to test her patience out. She won’t scream or get mad ; the look she’ll send you will be more than enough to make you wish the ground would open and swallow you.

His answer does have the merit of stopping Denitsa before she attacks Rhydian again, but Kyungsoo ends up being the one getting pinched, too suddenly for him to hold back a yelp.

“You traitor !” she hisses, although there is no bite in her voice.

“Just let it go, Nini,” Isabel chuckles when she sees Kyungsoo hurriedly slides away from the assaulting hand.

With a huff, the dancer slumps on the couch, crossing her arms and refusing to look at Kyungsoo when he glances at her.

“Come on,” he says, poking her upper arm, “Don’t be mad at me. I’ll go shopping with you again.”

She lifts her chin, lips pursed but still refusing to look in his direction, and Kyungsoo snorts.

“I’ll let you dye my hair whatever color you want,” he offers, because the red has almost completely faded, and she has been nagging him for weeks to let her have some fun.

It’s subtle, but he catches the quick glance she throws at his gelled-up bangs.

Almost there. He smiles, knowing exactly what he has to say to end this.

“I’ll let you watch the videos of me practicing the routine during the winter session…”

Checkmate.

A blinding smile, an excited ‘ _Okay !_ ’ and a peck on his cheek later, she’s back sipping on her tea, chatting with Isabel as if nothing had happened.

The change of mood doesn’t even unsettle him. He got used to it. When you’re alone in a new environment, you’re forced to adapt quicker, even if it pushes you way out of your comfort zone.  
And Kyungsoo adjusted, he got comfortable. It feels weird to think he will leave in just about two weeks. And although he misses everyone back home, he doesn’t think he is ready to leave the friends he made here.

It’ll be too weird not to see Isabel read on the couch, Aaron sometimes napping with his head on her lap. Or to hear Rhydian have weird conversations with Siri, only to get friend-zoned by the virtual assistant.  
It’ll be weird not to fill in the form Margaret gives them every time she tries a new recipe and wants them to give her objective feedback. He always makes sure to doodle a thumb up at the bottom of the page; he knows it makes her laugh.

But the weirdest will probably be not to see Denitsa dance anymore. In every corner of the old house ; down the hallway, up the stairs, around the table, standing or sitting, twirling around him, humming with her earphones on. The smile on her face and the way her eyes light up when her body moves with the music, he can’t help but find it magical.

He has seen Jongin dance, Sehun, too. He knows they are both passionate about it. But it’s not the same with her, like a different kind of grace. He can’t say why, or how. It just is. She seems to be flying, as if gravity had no hold on her. And it’s beautiful to watch.

He will miss them. He will miss how carefree he could be here, how he could forget the problems he left back home.

He will miss waking up in the morning, knowing he would have fun at the recording studio, meet amazing and hardworking people, joke with his co-workers, and witness pure magic being made with a violin quartet.

He would stay longer if he could. Even if it meant running away from the issues he should’ve dealt with already. He knows he can’t, though, so he will have to try and make the best out of the two remaining weeks.

 

♪♫

 

\--------------Saturday, August 26th--------------

09:14am

**BunnyBacon  
** _He doesn’t have any modern slang reference_

**Jun Myeon  
** _Yes_ _I do !_

**DINODAE  
** _like_ _what? LOL? LMAO?_

**Kyungsoo  
** _FML ?_

**Jun Myeon  
** _Excuse you, I have a Tumblr !_

**Loey  
** _oh_ _no…_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Okay then ! Give us ONE !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_bad idea_

**DINODAE  
** _very bad_

**Jun Myeon  
** _Yolo sweg !_

**Loey  
** _…_

**BunnyBacon  
** _……._

**Kyungsoo**  
_……………..._

**DINODAE  
** _…………………………_

**Jun Myeon  
** _?_

**DINODAE  
** _oh_ _. my. god_

**Kyungsoo**  
_you just got officially canceled_

**Loey  
** _by HUMANKIND_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Please delete yourself._

**Jun Myeon  
** _???_

**DINODAE  
** _can we pls move on ?_

**Loey  
** _it’s gonna haunt me forever_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Let’s go back to the original topic_

**BunnyBacon  
** _A pool party ??_

**Kyungsoo**  
_yeah_

**Kyungsoo**  
_at one of Rhydian’s friend’s house_

**DINODAE  
** _you_ _re living your best life :’)_

**Loey  
** _sounds fancy AF !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I mostly plan on making sure Rhydian doesn’t end up dead in the pool tbh_

**Kyungsoo**  
_upon Deni’s request xD_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Still_

**BunnyBacon  
** _If we wanted to have a pool party here, we’d have to do that in Junmyeon’s hyung BATHTUB_

**Loey  
** _...sounds shady AF !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_it’s not in the center of the city_

**Kyungsoo**  
_the houses are a bit less packed over there_

**Kyungsoo**  
_they have a big backyard apparently_

**DINODAE  
** _your dad s job is rubbing on you xDDD_

**Jun Myeon  
** _Did you pack swimming trunks ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I did_

**Kyungsoo**  
but _Denitsa made me buy new ones anyway_

**BunnyBacon  
** _I like that Denitsa girl_

**BunnyBacon  
** _First_ _she dyed your hair PURPLE_

**BunnyBacon  
** _And now she’s taking care of your poor sense of fashion_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Thank her for me, will you ?_

**Kyungsoo**  
_…_

**Kyungsoo**  
_sure_

**Kyungsoo**  
_anyway I gotta go_

**Kyungsoo**  
_I promised her I’d come to see her rehearsal today_

**Kyungsoo**  
_since I’m leaving before the actual show_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Okay_ _have fuuuun !_

**DINODAE  
** _don t drool too much in front of the male dancers_

**Loey  
** _dudes in leotards everywhere aka kyungsoo’s heaven_

**Kyungsoo**  
_shut up xD_

**DINODAE  
** _he s not even DENYING IT_

**Kyungsoo**  
_BYE !_

**Kyungsoo**  
_have fun tonight too_

 

A smile still etched on his face, Kyungsoo closes his laptop and slides off the bed, before exiting the room and making his way downstairs. He takes a quick trip to the kitchen to let Margaret know he’s heading out, yelping when he almost slips on the recently mopped and waxed wooden floor, and earning a melodic laugh from the old lady. Then, with a pat on the shoulder of a sleepy-looking Rhydian, he is out of the house, the morning summer sun already warming his bare arms.

It’s already almost 7pm when he comes back home, Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece still playing in his mind after hearing it for hours as he watched Denitsa and her schoolmates move across the stage like they were floating. He was initially supposed to return home with her later, but one of the girls had invited her to have a drink after rehearsal, and Denitsa had told him to leave on his own and to have fun at the party.

He is immediately assaulted by a very excited Rhydian, whose smile is wide and contagious enough for Kyungsoo’s cheek to hurt when he returns it.

“Go upstairs and change ! Hurry up !”

“Okay, okay, chill ! I’m going !” Kyungsoo laughs, but still feeling Rhydian’s hand pushing him towards the stairs to make him walk faster, “Isn’t the party starting around 9pm ?”

“Yeah, but we’re going a little earlier.”

Kyungsoo snorts, climbing the steps purposefully slowly, just to annoy him. It doesn’t take a genius to know precisely _why_ Always-Late-Rhydian wants to suddenly be there early.

“Iris is gonna be here to help preparing everything, isn’t she ?”

“Maybe.”

That answer is as good as a yes, if you ask Kyungsoo. He heard Rhydian gush about the girl enough times to know he is interested. It has very little to do with her personality, and more with how her tight shirt always clings to her boobs. But from what he saw, Kyungsoo is pretty sure Iris is more into Rhydian’s ass-and-abs package rather than his wittiness and sense of humor, so he guesses that’s okay.

They don’t need to have a debate about Plato using Socrates as a device to voice out his own thoughts while they roll in bed, right ?

  
When they arrive at the big house about an hour later, Rhydian vanishes before the front door even closes behind them, and Kyungsoo scoffs when he hears Iris’ laughter somewhere in an adjacent room. He decides to leave them alone and instead walks up to a couple of Rhydian’s friends he met several times during the summer. They immediately include him in the conversation, and Kyungsoo can’t help but think about how this is most likely the last party he will go to before having to return home.

It’s weird to already miss all this when he’s not even gone, yet.

But he promises himself to not let that ruin his night. If it’s the last time he gets to enjoy a party here, he will make the best out of it.

And enjoy, he does. He is nicely buzzed when Rhydian finds him a few hours later in the living room, chatting with a random brawny guy whose name he doesn’t remember. Or maybe the dude didn’t even tell him. He seems to be in an equally advanced stage of drunkenness. But he’s funny, and Kyungsoo is having a good time chatting with him.

“Oh my god !” Kyungsoo bursts out laughing when he glances at Rhydian who just stopped in front of them.

The guy next to him starts laughing too when he looks at the blond.

“What ?”

“You kissed her, didn’t you ?”

“What ?!”

“Iris. You totally kissed her.”

“Wh- How did you know ?” Rhydian asks, frowning and looking at him weirdly.

“I can see it on your face,” Kyungsoo states, trying to act seriously.

It’s pointless, though, and he ends up laughing some more when Rhydian’s eyes widen comically.

“No, seriously. I can _literally_ see it on your face. You have lipstick all around your lips.”

“It could be someone else !” his friend tries to defend himself, making Kyungsoo snort.

“I don’t think I’ve seen any other girl wearing blue lipstick at the party. You look like you got punched in the mouth. Or like you ate a smurf,” he teases, laughing again when Rhydian uselessly tries to wipe the makeup off his face with the back of his hand, but only smears it further across his right cheek.

“Yeah, whatever. I’m gonna get a beer, want one ?”

“Yep, please.”

“Alright, be right back.”

Beefed up dude is talking to Drew when Kyungsoo turns back to him, so he busies himself checking his phone as he waits for Rhydian to come back.

He has a few messages from Baekhyun that he received a couple hours ago. His best friend was clearly drunk, seeing how it took him four tries to spell Chanyeol’s name right when he explains something that happened during their little gathering.

Kyungsoo decided to wait until the next day to reply, since it’s around 7am in Korea at that moment, and he is pretty sure Baekhyun forgot to put his phone on silent mode. He always does.

Rhydian still hasn’t returned, so he closes Kakaotalk and opens Instagram. He posted a selfie earlier, just to let his followers know he would soon be back home, ready to return to the weekly video schedule. He scrolls through the comments, grinning at how happy and excited they all are, and even replies to some of them, thanking them for the compliments and for having been patient all summer.

He is about to close that app to after a quick look at his friends’ feeds, but something catches his eyes, and he brings his phone closer to his eyes, squinting and frowning at the same time.

It takes a few seconds to register the information and connect it with what he saw in more recent videos.

Messy blue hair.

Jongin.

He almost doesn’t recognize the girl next to him. She had bright red hair last time he saw her. Now it’s platinum blond, flowing from under a snapback he knows is Jongin’s, from seeing the dancer wearing it often in pictures and videos.

Krystal’s arm is around his neck, while Jongin’s is curled around her waist. Both their beaming faces are glowing under the kaleidoscopic lights. It was posted six hours ago, and that was more than enough for Jongin’s followers to go crazy in the comments.

After the ninth “ _OPPA IS SHE YOUR GIRLFRIEND ?_ ” and the fourteenth “ _OMG YOU LOOK SO PERFECT TOGETHER !_ ”, Kyungsoo shuts his phone off and turns toward bulky-dude.

Beer won’t be enough. He needs something stronger.

 “Wanna do shots ?” he asks, interrupting his conversation with Drew.

None of them seem to mind, though, and Drew drunkenly walks away as the guy nods.

“Lead the way !” he happily says, before following when Kyungsoo starts marching to the kitchen.

 

♪♫

 

It’s fucking cold.

That’s the first thing crossing Kyungsoo’s mind when he wakes up.

And he is in _pain_.

He wouldn’t necessarily be worried if only his head were hurting. He does remember chugging down a few shots of tequila at some point before the memories get all blurry. And the bright sunbeams coming through the light curtains undoubtedly are the cause of his eyes burning when he opens them.

But the fact that his throat is aching, that his _backside_ is sore, coupled with the boxer-clad guy lying next to his own very naked body is what really rings an alarm in his mind.

A big, loud, ear-piercing alarm.

It’s not that hard to figure out what happened. And his memories are fuzzy and distant, but he does remember drunk-flirting with the guy at some point between shots. And stumbling in a room with someone, an arm around their shoulders.

_Shit_.

As silently as he can, to avoid waking up the snoring dude, Kyungsoo gets up from the bed, wincing and cursing at the sharp pain shooting up his lower back. He quickly checks the room, trying to find his clothes, and spots them bunched in a pile near the dresser. The navy swimming trunk and white t-shirt are all crumpled when he puts them on, but he couldn’t care less. He needs to fucking leave.

A low curse leaves his mouth when he almost slips on a tied condom stuck on the floor, before he sighs. At least they were responsible drunkards.

His phone is nowhere to be seen, just like his wallet, but at this point, he doesn’t even care about that either. He’ll find a way to retrieve them later. He carefully opens the door and exits the room, flying out of the house, grateful that he didn’t meet anyone awake on his way out.

With no subway card and no money for a cab — not even a phone to call one, anyway — he has no other choice but to walk back home. At least he did find his shoes at the bottom of the stairs.

Refusing to think about how stupid he is, he spends the three-hour-long walk reciting to himself some of his Music Theory lessons, getting frustrated when he forgets essential parts of it.

He understands, now, why they call this the Walk of Shame.  
Not to be dramatic, but he would gladly jump down every sewer manhole he sees on the pavement and hide forever.

It doesn’t really help that he passes by a church right as people flock out of the majestic building after mass.

Karma fucking hates him.

Call him paranoid, but he can feel their eyes following him and judging him for his sins, as if they _know_.

And maybe they do. He didn’t take the time to even glance in a mirror before leaving the house, after all. For all he knows, he could have dried up cum all over his hair.

As nonchalantly as he can, he brushes the purple locks away from his forehead, gritting his teeth when he feels the somewhat crunchy texture and fastening his pace to get away from their intrusive looks.

When he finally makes it home, he plans on making a beeline to the bathroom before rushing to his bedroom, but he gets intercepted by Margaret, who gushes over him looking tired and forces him to sit at the dinner table while she prepares him a quick meal. Knowing her, there is no getting out of it, so he holds back a sigh and complies, forcing himself to return the smile she offers him.

It takes all his willpower not to gag as he eats. His head is pounding, and his stomach is everything but happy with him, but he keeps chewing and swallowing, not wanting to worry the old lady.

A glance towards the clocks shows him it’s almost three in the afternoon when he finishes his plate. He excuses himself, and after grabbing the first clothes he found in his room, he goes back downstairs and locks himself in the bathroom.

The expeditious shower doesn’t bring him much comfort, but at least he feels a bit more human, popping painkillers from the medicine cabinet in his mouth after towel-drying his hair.

Back in his bedroom, he cautiously sits on his bed, still wincing at the pain radiating from his ass, and turns his laptop on, hands shaking. His fingers are fidgety, and his vision still a bit blurry as he hurriedly clicks to open his chatroom with Baekhyun. He needs to tell someone, or he might implode.

Considering the daylight saving time, it should be around 11pm in South-Korea. Here’s to hope Baekhyun has his phone next to him.

  
\--------------Sunday, August 27th--------------

03:14pm

**Kyungsoo  
** _Baek_

**Kyungsoo  
** _pls tell me youre stll awake_

**Kyungsoo  
** _I neEd yuo to NOT BE SLEPPNG RIGHT NOW_

**Kyungsoo  
** _I think I fucked wiht a dude last ight_

**Kyungsoo  
** _but I dont remeber?????_

**Kyungsoo  
** _or just liKe…...kinda????_

**Kyungsoo  
** _I thinkb he fucked me actually_

**Kyungsoo  
** _I DONT EVEN KNOW HIS NAME§§§§§§§_

**Kyungsoo  
** _BAEKHUYHN_

_  
_ Karma might actually be on his side for once, because the three little dots indicating his best friend is answering pop up under his last frantic message.

Right at that moment, two knocks on his door echo in the silence before it opens and Rhydian’s head appears.

He looks like his hangover is even worse than Kyungsoo’s, with blood-shot eyes and a greenish face, as if he was about to throw up.

“Hey, you okay ?” the blond asks, eyebrows raised.

“Yeah of course, why ?” Kyungsoo answers a bit too quickly.

Seeing as there is blue lipstick smudged on his neck and down where his collar starts, Kyungsoo is pretty sure things must’ve gone well with Iris, and he probably — and thankfully — has no idea what happened to him.

“I didn’t find you anywhere when I woke up at Drew’s place. But then I saw your phone and wallet on the kitchen counter,” Rhydian says, fully entering the room and reaching a hand out, “Here.”

His mind still focused on what he just sent to Baekhyun, Kyungsoo forces a smile as he grabs both items, dropping them on the bed next to him.

“Are you sure you’re okay ?” Rhydian asks again, now looking worried.

“Yeah, sure. Just a bad headache,” Kyungsoo replies trying to sound nonchalant, “I should’ve gone easy on the shots.”

“Same,” Rhydian chuckles, lifting his hand to rub his temple with a comical grimace, “Alright, I’m gonna hit the shower, then.”

“Try not to drown,” Kyungsoo snorts, before wincing when the sound hurts his throat.

“Pshh, you’re one to talk,” the blond answers teasingly, most likely because Kyungsoo looks like shit too.

As soon as the door closes, his amusement vanishes, and he anxiously looks back at his laptop screen, reading the new message that appeared under his own.

He frowns, confused, and his eyes unconsciously switch up and down the window, only for his brain to short-circuit when he sees the username, heart suddenly racing.

**  
NiniPoodle  
** _Wrong chatroom._

  
_Shit._

_Shitshitfuck._

He vaguely notices the _Baby_ has been removed from said username, but he doesn’t exactly have time to dwell on it.

This is bad.

_  
_ **Kyungsoo  
** _oh_

**Kyungsoo  
** _hey_

**Kyungsoo  
** _well this is awkward xD_

_  
_ No reply.

Okay, plan B it is.

Did he even have a plan A ?

**  
Kyungsoo  
** _haha don’t judge me too hard_

**Kyungsoo  
** _I was drunk_

  
Yup, the A in ‘plan A’ stood for Awkward, and now the B in ‘plan B’ stands for Bullshit, clearly.

And still no answer.

  
**Kyungsoo  
**_I mean_

**Kyungsoo  
** _you know firsthand I tend to take reaaaally bad decisions when I’m drunk xD_

  
As he hits _Entry_ , the memories of the video where he was dancing to Catallena, the one Baekhyun had sent to Jongin, are still fresh in his mind. He still feels embarrassed whenever he thinks about it.

He can see the messages have been read, and a wave of relief hits him when he sees the little dots finally pop up as Jongin starts writing.

He watches them bounce for a few seconds before they disappear, making him frown.

They reappear, just for a short moment, and vanish again. It goes like this two more times, and Kyungsoo grows more and more curious. What is making Jongin hesitate so much ?

Until it hits him.

“ _I tend to take really bad decisions when I’m drunk._ ” Kyungsoo was obviously talking about that dancing video. But what if Jongin thinks he is talking about the kiss they shared while they were plastered, two months ago ?

The dots bounce. Then disappear.

That would mean Jongin does remember. Or is Kyungsoo misunderstanding the situation ?

He doesn’t want to be the first one to bring it up, especially not _now_ , after what he just revealed. So how about plan S, for _ShutTheFuckUp_ ?

His message still stands, anyway. It _was_ a bad decision.

Bounce, bounce, bounce.

And disappear.

For good.

  
**Kyungsoo  
**_Jongin ?_

**Kyungsoo  
** _you okay ?_

**  
** The message switches to _Read_. But nothing pops up.

**Kyungsoo  
** _????_

**Kyungsoo  
** _Jongin ? :/_

 

“ _Karma might actually be on his side for once._ ”

Yeah, right.

Scratch that, Karma fucking hates him.

 

♪♫

 

It’s not until the next evening that he finally messages Baekhyun, after returning from the studios and settling in his bedroom.

He went to bed early the night before, tired, hurting, and not wanting to deal with Life altogether.

And just now, he was scrolling on Instagram and noticed Jongin was answering comments under his most recent post - a picture of himself smiling, posted two days ago, and captioned with “ _Happy face after nailing my exams ! Thank you for all the encouraging words and the good luck wishes ! I love you guys <3”_

For a second, Kyungsoo forgot to _think_ and went straight to his private messages.

**melod.ous  
** _congrats_ _for your exams ! I hope your ankle is okay ! but what are you doing awake ? Isn’t is 4am in SK ?_

  
It only hit him after he pressed Send and watched the message be read a less than ten seconds later.

After waiting twenty minutes, however, there is still no answer, and it’s with a sigh that he exits the app and opens Kakaotalk.

He quickly reads the few messages he received earlier and forgot to reply to.

\--------------Monday, August 28th--------------

06:02pm

**BunnyBacon  
** _I found another fanfic about you and me_

**BunnyBacon  
** _This one is pure gold_

**BunnyBacon  
** _You can turn into a rabbit_

**BunnyBacon  
** _And I’m a magician who uses you for his tricks_

**BunnyBacon  
** _And then we fuck, somehow_

**BunnyBacon  
** _It was quite descriptive_

**BunnyBacon  
** _..._

**BunnyBacon  
** _Please never “suck my dick as it was the most delicious carrot you had ever tasted”_

 

It’s with a grimace in his face that he starts typing.

  
08:26pm

**Kyungsoo**  
_dude_

**Kyungsoo  
** _I fucked up_

**Kyungsoo  
** _I double fucked up actually_

  
Somehow, despite the late hour in his home country, a reply pops up right away.

**  
BunnyBacon  
** _Whaaat_ _have you done this time xD ?_

  
He is pretty sure his best friends won’t be amused much longer.

He briefly tells him about the party, although he skips the part where he saw the picture of Jongin and Krystal and goes straight to “ _I drank too much_ ,” without explaining _why_. When he ends with how quick he fled the house, Baekhyun finally answers.

  
**BunnyBacon  
**_Waiiiiiit a second_

  
Here we go, Kyungsoo thinks, bracing himself.

**  
BunnyBacon  
** _What do you mean you SLEPT WITH A GUY ????_

**BunnyBacon  
** _WTF ???????_

**BunnyBacon  
** _WHO THE FUCK IS HE ?_

**Kyungsoo  
** _a friend of a friend or something like that_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Okay,_ _I’m gonna need SOME EXPLANATION HERE  O_O_

**Kyungsoo  
** _well tbh I don’t really remember_

**Kyungsoo  
** _like_ _...I just drank and then...I woke up ?_

**Kyungsoo  
** _I don’t know okay ?_

**Kyungsoo  
** _this is so bad_

**Kyungsoo  
** _what if the dude goes up and shares this publicly ??_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Your first scandal :’)_

**Kyungsoo  
** _…_

**Bunny Bacon  
** _I meaaaan_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Even bad press is still press, right ?_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Go get them viewzzzz !_

**Kyungsoo  
** _you’re a shitty manager_

**BunnyBacon  
** _I was your manager ?_

**Kyungsoo  
** _YOU SAID YOU WERE !!!!_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Okay CHILL_

**BunnyBacon  
** _First_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Are you SURE you slept with him ?_

**BunnyBacon  
** _since you don’t remember, is there a chance you didn’t ?_

**Kyungsoo  
** _well I woke up naked_

**Kyungsoo  
** _and he was as good as naked too_

**Kyungsoo  
** _and we were in bed together_

**Kyungsoo  
** _and we were drunk the night before_

**Kyungsoo  
** _I remember flirting with him_

**Kyungsoo  
** _and my ass AND throat were sore_

**Kyungsoo  
** _so I think it’s not a really farfetched conclusion_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Damn..._

**Kyungsoo  
** _yeah_

**Kyungsoo  
** _pretty sure Jongin thought the same when I told him_

**BunnyBacon  
** _...I’m sorry what ?_

**Kyungsoo  
** _?_

**BunnyBacon  
** _he thought the same when you did WHAT ?_

**Kyungsoo  
** _when I told him ?_

**BunnyBacon  
** _...Come again ?_

**Kyungsoo  
** _???_

**BunnyBacon  
** _I’m just hoping you repeatedly made the same typo just now and you didn’t actually TELL THE CHICKEN THAT YOU SLEPT WITH A RANDOM GUY_

**Kyungsoo  
** _...yeah that’s the second fuck up I was talking about :/_

**Kyungsoo  
** _it was an accident_

**Kyungsoo  
** _telling Jongin I mean_

**Kyungsoo  
** _I thought I was telling you_

**Kyungsoo  
** _but apparently not_

**BunnyBacon  
** _so basically, you’re telling me you haven’t talked to him ALL SUMMER_

**BunnyBacon  
** _and the FIRST TIME you message him, you announce him you FUCKED WITH SOMEONE ?????????_

**Kyungsoo  
** _uhm...yeah, basically :/_

**BunnyBacon  
** _You’re giving me a headache_

**Kyungsoo  
** _I told you it was bad..._

**BunnyBacon  
** _WTF are you gonna do now ?_

**Kyungsoo  
** _talk to the guy, I guess ?_

**Kyungsoo  
** _like, ask him to keep all this for himself ?_

**BunnyBacon  
** _What_

**Kyungsoo  
** _I need to ask Rhydian who he is first_

**Kyungsoo  
** _but he was hella drunk too_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Wait_

**Kyungsoo  
** _I’m not sure if he even knows the guy_

**Kyungsoo  
** _and what if the guy still decides to tweet about it ?_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Waiiit_

**Kyungsoo  
** _or worse ! what if he didn’t think about it but me asking him not to makes him decide to do it ??????_

**Kyungsoo  
** _shit_

**Kyungsoo  
** _it’s a mess_

**BunnyBacon  
** _It is_

**BunnyBacon  
** _But I was talking about the chicken_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Not your fuck-buddy_

**BunnyBacon  
** _What are you gonna do about him ?_

**Kyungsoo  
** _oh_

**Kyungsoo  
** _idk ?_

**Kyungsoo  
** _I‘m open to ideas…._

**BunnyBacon  
** _Of course…_

**Kyungsoo  
** _please ?_

**BunnyBacon  
** S _end me a screenshot of the convo._

**BunnyBacon  
** _I need to assess the damages_

  
As he takes said screenshots, Kyungsoo tries not to reread the messages, already feeling horrible enough. But he knows Baekhyun is not gonna like what he is about to read.

And it takes less than five minutes before he confirms that thought.

 

**BunnyBacon  
** _….._

**BunnyBacon  
** _FOR FUCK SAKE KYUNGSOO_

**Kyungsoo  
** _?_

**BunnyBacon  
** _You fucking implied kissing him was a mistake !!!!_

**Kyungsoo  
** _I know…_

**BunnyBacon  
** _You know what? I’m out_

**Kyungsoo  
** _what?_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Fix things by yourself_

**BunnyBacon  
** _I’m done trying to help when you screw everything over again_

**BunnyBacon  
** _So work it out on your own_

**Kyungsoo  
** _hold on_

**Kyungsoo  
** _are you fucking mad at ME right now ??????_

**BunnyBacon  
** _YES I AM_

**BunnyBacon  
** _And I’m not joking_

**BunnyBacon  
** _You told me to mind my own business last time_

**BunnyBacon  
** _So I will_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Get your shit together_

**BunnyBacon  
** _I have my own problems to handle._

  
Kyungsoo stares at his phone, blinking as he reads the last messages several times. Was that motherfucker _serious_ ?! Kyungsoo was here for him when he was at his lowest, and now that he needs him, Baekhyun is just going to ditch him ?

Well, fine ! If he wants to be a jerk, Kyungsoo can play that game too. He doesn’t need that obnoxious jackass. He can manage !

Baekhyun can go fuck himself and handle his stupid rebound girl problem on his own.

 

♪♫

 

There are days you just know are not going to go well. Waking up outrageously late should’ve been a hint for Kyungsoo. Just as much as drinking half a glass of orange juice right after brushing his teeth. And it’s with his face scrunched, the bitter taste still assaulting his tongue, that he exits the house and makes his way to work.

He is halfway through his lunch sandwich, later, when he receives a message from Jiyeon, which is unusual enough to have him frowning before he has even read said message.

 

_ From : _ _**Jiyeon  
**_ _01:02pm-  
_ _Hey Kyungsoo. I hope I won’t bother you at work. I just wanted to let you know that Seungsoo got into a car accident on his way to work this morning. An idiot didn’t stop at the red light and drove straight into his car. We’re in the hospital right now. But he is okay, so you don’t have to worry. He doesn’t have any serious injuries, and he should be discharged before the end of the day. He didn’t want me to bother you, but I thought I should to tell you since you can’t be here. Anyway, have a good day ! XO_

  
Blinking in disbelief, he sighs, a piece of his half-chewed mouthful landing on his phone

_Great_. _Just great_.

After wiping the screen, he replies quickly, promising to call his brother that evening, before dropping his phone on the small table. When it beeps a few minutes later, he grabs it back, thinking she answered, but the notification turns out different than what he expected.

  
From : **Sehun  
** 01:11pm-  
_Hyung, what the hell happened ????????_

  
The frown is back on his face when he answers with a bunch of question marks.

  
From : **Sehun  
** 01:13pm-  
_With Jongin. What happened ???_

  
This day is just getting better and better, isn’t it ?

Not wanting to give too much away, just in case Sehun is talking about something else than what Kyungsoo thinks, he only replies a simple ‘ _Why_ ?’ and waits.

  
From : **Sehun  
** 01:16pm-  
_When are you coming back ?_

_  
_ To : **Sehun  
** 01:16pm-  
_next weekend_

_  
_ From : **Sehun  
** 01:17pm-  
_We’ll have to talk._

  
The three question marks he sends next are left with no answer, and he sighs when his supervisor calls for him to come and help with an issue on the recording they worked on all morning. Throwing his unfinished lunch in the trash, he pockets his phone and makes his way to the studio.

There really are some days where nothing seems to go well.

  
His brother turns out to be fine indeed, albeit a little shocked. He got lucky to only get out of this with a few bruises from the seatbelt and a sore neck, and after worrying the entire afternoon, Kyungsoo is relieved to hear that Jiyeon brought him back to their apartment safely.

“Mom freaked out,” Seungsoo tells him, “Even more when Jiyeon told her the guy who crashed into my car got out without any injury. She was ready to find him and beat him black and blue.”

At that, Kyungsoo can’t help but chuckle. That’s quite typical of her, he is not really surprised.

“If you lived closer from home, she’d already be at your place,” he replies, “You would have to dodge the food she’d try to push down your throat.”

“I already do. I have the same one here,” Seungsoo dramatically sighs, earning a laugh from Kyungsoo when he tries to picture Jiyeon force-feeding his brother.

“Good luck with that,” he snorts.

“You could at least try to sound empathetic, you brat.”

“I am... Deep inside. I just ran out of energy to show it.”

“Did something happened ?” Seungsoo asks, sounding suddenly concerned.

“Nah, just life trying to make me pay every single decision I took lately,” he tiredly sighs, “But I’ll manage.”

“You sure you don’t want to talk about it ?”

“Yeah. It’s just a clusterfuck I need to sort out on my own.”

“Okay. But feel free to call,” the elder offers, “The doctor got me out of work for a week, so I have time to help my little brother.”

“Don’t worry about me and focus on getting better,” Kyungsoo smiles.

“Fine. Oh, by the way, did you buy your plane ticket already ? Your internship is finishing this week, right ?”

“Yeah. My flight is on Friday evening. With the time difference, I’ll arrive on Saturday afternoon.”

“Is Baekhyun fetching you at the airport ? I bet he’s excited to have you back.”

“...Probably not,” Kyungsoo says with a frown, picking at a loose thread on the hem of his sweatpants, “We had an argument yesterday.”

“Again ?” Seungsoo laughs, before answering to something Jiyeon asked about dinner, “So what have you done this time ?”

“Why do you automatically assume _I_ did something ?!” Kyungsoo asks, in a sharper tone than he intended.

Seungsoo doesn’t seem to mind, though, because he chortles.

“Fine, what did _he_ do, then ?”

Kyungsoo clicks his tongue, annoyed, but remains silent. Why does _everyone_ always think he is the one to blame ?

“Alright, alright,” his brother capitulates, still sounding amused, “I’m guessing this is part of the clusterfuck you were talking about, so I’ll stop asking.”

Feeling bad, Kyungsoo sighs once more.

“Sorry. I just…”

“It’s okay. I hope you’ll feel better soon. And the offer still stands, you can call anytime.”

“Thanks, hyung.”

“Alright, I gotta go. I think Jiyeon is trying to make me porridge, but knowing her, she’s gonna burn my kitchen to the ground.”

“Go save her, then,” Kyungsoo chuckles.

“I’m more worried about the kitchen.”

“Don’t overwork yourself.”

“I won’t. Bye baby brother,” Seungsoo says before hanging up midway through the yelp Jiyeon lets out.

Right on cue, Kyungsoo hears Denitsa’s voice right outside of his room, asking him if he wants to go for a quick trip to the grocery store with her. He doesn’t hesitate and stands from his bed before exiting the room, where the dancer latches on his arm with a bright smile and drags him down the stairs.

Her cheerful mood is contagious, and by the time they come back home, he feels better. She has been here for him during the last two months, and he can’t believe he will have to say goodbye in just three days. He is not sure he wants to.

 

♪♫

 

It’s almost ten o’clock on Thursday night when someone knocks on his bedroom door, and Kyungsoo tears his eyes from the sample window of his music production software, to see Rhydian’s face pop up.

“Yes ?”

“Hey, do you remember Chase ?”

“Chase ?”

“From the party, last Saturday.”

“Uhm…”

“You guys were drinking shots at some point ? At least the last time I saw you that night.”

_Fuck_.

“Oh...uhm...yeah, I remember,” he says, purposefully withholding that he didn’t even know the dude’s name. Or that he incidentally slept with him.  “Why ?”

“You might get a DM on Instagram, soon. He asked me your number, earlier, but I wasn’t sure you’d be okay with that, so I gave your IG username instead. I hope it’s fine ?”

_Fuckfuckfuck._

“Yeah, sure.”

“Cool. Just wanted to let you know.”

“Thanks.”

“Okay, good night, then !”

“‘Night.”

A few seconds later, the door clicks shut behind Rhydian, and Kyungsoo closes his eyes, throwing his head back.

“Why do you hate me so much ?” he groans.

He’s not sure if he is addressing the blond or just Life in general, but it definitely feels like someone is trying their best to make things harder for him.

He hadn’t even considered getting in contact with the guy.

Just for the sake of avoiding the issue a little bit longer, Kyungsoo goes back to what he was doing and spends the next hour arranging the song he started working on earlier that night. When it becomes clear that he won’t be able to do anything more until he gets back to his instruments, he saves the project, naming it ‘ _life sucks_ ’, and shuts his laptop off.

He gets up and stows it in his already packed suitcase. The two heavy luggage he arrived with now have a new friend : a large bag he had to purchase to store all the new clothes Denitsa made him buy during this two months. Not that he is mad ; his father insisted on sending him a little bit of money so he could have fun, and Deni is incredibly good at finding nice clothes and accessories at a low price. Even if she mostly wears pastels colors, she still managed to make a black-on-black outfit looking interesting on him.

After making sure the laptop is safely strapped, he zips the suitcase close, and goes back to his bed, eyeing his phone as he settles between the sheets. For a moment, he considers just going to sleep and postponing the weird conversation that is sure to take place if he checks his direct messages. But after a sigh, he picks up his phone and opens the app. It might be better to deal with it now. He’ll apologize and tell the guy he was drunk and didn’t know what he was doing. Quick and efficient, like ripping a band-aid.

Surely enough, as he scrolls through the myriad of new notifications, he spots the one he was looking for.

**chasethestorm** _started following you._

  
A quick look at his feed confirms it’s indeed the beefed-up guy from the party, and after opening his DMs, Kyungsoo eventually finds a new request sent from that account.

Another sigh and he opens it.

  
**chasethestorm  
**_hey there! it’s chase, from drew’s party! remember me?_

**chasethestorm** **  
** _rhydian_ _gave me your IG @ cause he said you’re leaving tomorrow and texting between england and south korea will be too expensive!_

**chasethestorm** **  
** _first_ _i hope you’re feeling better since the party XD it was a wild night! And second i wanted to know if you were still on board to do what we talked about!_

**chasethestorm  
** _just let me know!_

  
Kyungsoo stares at his screen, re-reading the four messages a few times.

What the actual fuck ?!!

A wild night ? Did the guy seriously joke about them sleeping together ? And what on earth is that thing they talked about ? What did he get himself into again ?

That’s it. He is never drinking ever again.

With a groan, Kyungsoo starts typing.

  
**melod.ous  
**_hey Chase. yeah I remember you. not so much about the party, tho. so I’m not sure what it is we talked about._

**melod.ous  
** _but before anything, I wanted to apologize_

  
Before he has the time to send anything more, a new message pops up.

  
**chasethestorm  
**_for what??_

  
Great. He is fucking online. Life and Karma really, _really_ hates Kyungsoo.

  
**melod.ous  
**_leaving like that the morning after the party_

**chasethestorm  
** _uh_ _...it’s fine?_

**melod.ous  
** _just so you know, I don’t usually sleep around_

**chasethestorm  
** _o...kay??_

**melod.ous  
** _that’s why I feel kinda bad for just leaving_

**melod.ous  
** _you know_

**chasethestorm  
** _wait_ _you slept with someone at that party?? when ?? O-O_

**melod.ous  
** _…._

**melod.ous  
** _you_ _don’t remember either ???_

  
Here is where that Plan S he used with Jongin would’ve been nice to apply. Like a fucking minute ago.

**  
chasethestorm  
** _remember_ _what??_

  
Well, he can’t really backtrack now, can he ?

**  
melod.ous  
** _that we_ _had sex ????_

**chasethestorm  
** _excuse_ _me what?????? X’DDD_

**melod.ous  
** _?_

**chasethestorm  
** _we didn’t X’DDD_

**melod.ous  
** _what ?_

  
What ?

**  
chasethestorm  
** _bro_ _we didn’t sleep together_

**chasethestorm  
** _what_ _are you even talking about?? X’D_

**melod.ous  
** _but we were in a BED_

**melod.ous  
** _TOGETHER_

**melod.ous  
** _NAKED ???_

**melod.ous  
** _and_ _honestly? my ass and throat HURT_

  
At this point, Kyungsoo doesn’t even think of hiding anything. What the hell is happening ?!

**  
chasethestorm  
** _oh shit XD_

**chasethestorm  
** _omg hahahahaha_

**chasethestorm  
** _bro_ _you slipped near the pool!!!!!_

**chasethestorm  
** _landed on your arse real hard_

**chasethestorm  
** _and_ _you fell in the water and nearly drowned!!_

**chasethestorm  
** _we had to fish you out X’D_

**chasethestorm  
** _i_ _took off your clothes and put you in bed cause you were hammered!!_

**melod.ous  
** _......._

**melod.ous  
** _THEN WHY WERE YOU ALMOST NAKED IN THE BED TOO ?_

**chasethestorm  
** _it was the only room with a queen size bed that had a spot available_

**chasethestorm  
** _and it was hot X’D_

**chasethestorm  
** _i_ _was drunk too bro_

**chasethestorm  
** _i_ _just took off my clothes X’D_

**melod.ous  
** _...._

  
What is this parallel universe he just got dumped into ? Someone send help.

**  
chasethestorm  
** _oh my god i can believe all this time you thought we boned each other_

**melod.ous  
** _well I’m sorRY IT WAS A LEGITIMATE CONCLUSION CONSIDERING EVERYTHING_

**chasethestorm  
** _i’m_ _sorry X’D_

**melod.ous  
** _fuck_

**melod.ous  
** _I DROWNED ?_

**chasethestorm  
** _almost_ _yeah! X’D_

  
And to think Denitsa and Kyungsoo had dared to make fun of Rhydian being the one who might drown… What a joke.

**  
melod.ous  
** _that’s_ _why my throat was hurting...._

**chasethestorm  
** _definitely_

**chasethestorm  
** _you coughed so much water_

**melod.ous  
** _wow_

**melod.ous  
** _okay now I feel really stupid_

**chasethestorm  
** _don’t_

**chasethestorm  
** _i’m_ _flattered you thought i was a potential hook up_

**chasethestorm  
** _i_ _mean i’m straight_

**chasethestorm  
** _but_ _still very much flattered!!_

**melod.ous  
** _I’m so sorry >o<_

**melod.ous  
** _I flirted with you during the party, didn’t I ?_

**chasethestorm  
** _sorta yeah_

**chasethestorm  
** _got me into doing love shots at one point_

**chasethestorm  
** _but as i said you were so drunk i just decided to go along with it_

**chasethestorm  
** _i_ _wasn’t in a much better state anyway_

**chasethestorm  
** _and it was fun_

**chasethestorm  
** _i_ _didn’t mind_

  
His hands tangled in his purple hair, Kyungsoo looks at the phone he dropped on his legs. Was that conversation even real ? Did he accidentally fall asleep before he started to reply ?

Chances are, he didn’t, and Baekhyun was right all along. Kyungsoo is stupid as fuck.

**  
melod.ous  
** _wait_

**melod.ous  
** _what_ _did we talk about at the party ?_

**chasethestorm  
** _i_ _told you i played double bass and when i showed you a video, you said it’d be fun to do some sort of collab XD_

**melod.ous  
** _oh_

**melod.ous  
** _wow_

**melod.ous  
** _okay_

**melod.ous  
** _yeah that’d be nice actually_

**chasethestorm  
** _it’s okay if you changed your mind XD_

**chasethestorm  
** _you were drunk so it might have been the tequila talking_

**melod.ous  
** _no no_ _no !_

**melod.ous  
** _for real_

**melod.ous  
** _it’d be cool_

**chasethestorm  
** _okay_

**chasethestorm  
** _i’ll_ _send you some stuff i recorded and you can tell me if something catches your attention_

**melod.ous  
** _deal !_

**chasethestorm  
** _can_ _i ask you something though?_

**melod.ous  
** _sure :)_

  
Kyungsoo is so happy right now that Chase could ask him to a backflip, and he would do it. Or at least try.

**chasethestorm  
** _who’s_ _jongin?_

**melod.ous  
** _what ?_

**chasethestorm  
** _idk you kept mumbling that name when i was putting you in bed_

**melod.ous  
** _oh_

**melod.ous  
** _uhm_

**melod.ous  
** _just a friend from home_

**chasethestorm  
** _i_ _see_

**chasethestorm  
** _well you said something about a kiss_

**chasethestorm  
** _and you whined about chicken and bacon between coughing fits_

**chasethestorm  
** _saying it was unfair or something like that_

**chasethestorm  
** _just so you know X’D_

**chasethestorm  
** _but i fell asleep so i didn’t hear much more_

**chasethestorm  
** _i_ _was too drunk to process your ramble anyway XD_

**melod.ous  
** _yeah I’m just...a fucking idiot_

**chasethestorm  
** _X’D_

**chasethestorm  
** _maybe you were hungry too XD_

**chasethestorm  
** _anyway i gotta go_

**chasethestorm  
** _i_ _need to wake up early tomorrow_

**chasethestorm  
** _but_ _we’ll stay in touch, right?_

**melod.ous  
** _definitely !_

**  
** Suddenly, Kyungsoo is scrolling up, and his fingers are shaking as he takes screenshots of the whole conversation. At least until the point where Chase mentioned a certain someone.

In a rush, he bids the guy a good night, before exiting Instagram and opening Kakaotalk. A few clicks later, he has sent all the screenshots to Jongin, almost messing up the order in his haste.

  
\--------------Thursday, August 31st--------------

11:46pm

**Kyungsoo  
** [File sent]

**Kyungsoo  
** [File sent]

**Kyungsoo  
** [File sent]

**Kyungsoo  
** [File sent]

**Kyungsoo  
** [File sent]

**Kyungsoo  
** [File sent]

**Kyungsoo  
** [File sent]

**Kyungsoo  
** _I don’t know if I have to laugh or hit my head on a wall !!!_

  
Then he does the exact same for Baekhyun, ending with a “ _You’re right. I’m an idiot,_ ” because he is so fucking relieved that, at this point, he doesn’t even mind admitting it loud and clear. He types another longer message, profusely apologizing for being the biggest dick in the entire cosmos, and promising to buy him all the food he wants when he gets back, before returning to Jongin’s chatroom.

If his math is correct, it’s only almost nine in the morning in South Korea, and knowing Jongin’s sleeping habit, he doesn’t expect an answer, but he can’t help but hope.

Which is why his heart leaps in his throat when he sees three little dots starting to bounce as Jongin replies. He gulps, bracing himself for the answer he will get. The situation is pretty funny, altogether, so maybe Jongin will tease him.

When the message finally appears, however, Kyungsoo quickly deflates. And the next ones are not doing much more for his dropping mood.

**  
NiniPoodle  
** _Cool_

**NiniPoodle  
** _That’s good news since you couldn’t remember it._

**Kyungsoo  
** _you okay ?_

**NiniPoodle  
** _Yeah._

**NiniPoodle  
** _I gotta go, though._

**NiniPoodle  
** _I have stuff to do._

**Kyungsoo  
** _oh_

**Kyungsoo  
** _okay_

**NiniPoodle  
** _Bye._

**Kyungsoo  
** _bye_

  
Just like that, all his previous excitement is gone, and Baekhyun’s answer barely manages to bring his relief back.

  
**BunnyBacon  
**_You owe me more than just food, you dickhead. But fine. I can’t stay mad at you since I’m gonna need you this semester for my graduating project._

**BunnyBacon  
** _There’s a party tomorrow night, last one before school starts. I’m dragging your ass there, and you won’t be complaining, capice ?_

**BunnyBacon  
** _Tell me when your plane lands, I’ll be there._

**BunnyBacon  
**_Dickhead_.

 

♪♫

 

When Kyungsoo enters Junmyeon’s house on Saturday night, it feels foreign. Jet lag is kicking him in the face like crazy, and all the faces around him are a bit blurry through his burning and tired eyes.

After a stressing eleven-hour flight, during which many turbulences didn’t let him sleep more than a few minutes, he barely had time to drop by his apartment to leave his suitcases and bag and quickly freshen up, before Baekhyun was dragging him out towards the subway.

His friends are soon all around him, asking him way too many questions that he struggles to process. Somehow, he is still expecting to hear Rhydian’s laughter through their voices, or to feel Denitsa and Isabel catch his arms for an impromptu selfie session. But there is only Junmyeon and Eunji, hand in hand, excitedly smiling at him, and Chanyeol, holding Seohyun’s waist as he keeps firing more questions at Kyungsoo about his internship. There is Jongdae, happily handing him a plastic cup full of an amber-colored liquid, and Baekhyun, with his arm still propped around Kyungsoo’s shoulders, beaming at everyone as if he was proudly introducing his newborn to them.

It feels _weird_. But he is too exhausted to try to figure out why.

He ends breaking his resolve not to drink ever again, and slowly goes down his cup, followed by a bottle of beer he fetched in the fridge after trying to escape from the loud music by isolating himself in the kitchen.

As the minutes pass, people come and go, grabbing drinks and patting him on the shoulder with happy ‘ _it’s nice to have you back’_ that he forces himself to answer with a smile, despite the headache he can feel crawling up the back of his head.

When the kitchen door opens again, he gets ready to once more having to fake enthusiasm, compelling a strained grin on his lips before raising his head to face whoever entered.

His jaw sets, however, when he sees the last person he wants to talk to at the moment. Who even invited him again ?

Making his way to the refrigerator, Hyunsik seems quite inebriated already, despite the still early hour. For a few seconds, Kyungsoo considers dashing out of the room, since his ex-boyfriend doesn’t seem to have seen him yet. But as Hyunsik closes the fridge, his back still facing Kyungsoo, his plan gets jeopardized.

“You didn’t text,” he says in a monotone voice, before turning on his heels, “At all.”

“Was I supposed to ?” Kyungsoo asks, raising an eyebrow, all trace of his fake smile definitely gone.

Their last conversation had been quite to the point. He thought he had made himself clear, and Hyunsik had seemed to understand, seeing how cold he acted before walking away.

His ex shrugs, fumbling with the bottle opener magneted to the fridge as he tries to open his beer.

“I guess I was hoping you would,” he mumbles after his fifth attempt finally ends up in a little popping sound.

Kyungsoo watches the cap land on a floor and roll behind the trash can. When the faint metallic noise stops, he looks back at Hyunsik.

“I hardly see why,” he deadpans, “We went over a this already. We might’ve worked together for last semester’s project, but we’re done with it. There’s no reason for us to spend time together anymore.”

He is expecting Hyunsik to either retort sharply, or to try a flirtatious approach. It’s what he has done every single time they had a similar conversation since he got transferred. So Kyungsoo can’t help but be taken aback when he hears him let out a pitiful, sad chuckle.

“You’ve always been pretty selfish, huh ?”

“What ?”

Where did that even come from ?

“It was the same back in high school. You dated me as long as it was convenient for you, and then you ditched me when you deemed I was a burden,” Hyunsik says in one go, his words a bit slurred by the alcohol.

The dejected tone is evident in his voice, however.

“You didn’t even have the courage to break up with me face to face. You fucking dumped me over a _text_.”

“Look, I know-”

“You didn’t change at all,” Hyunsik cuts him with another disheartened scoff, “You were all friendly as long as we were working together, making me think we could be friends… And as soon as you had no use for me anymore, you threw me away again.”

“We had to pair up because of you, though. And I told you _from the start_ that I-”

“How many other guys did you do that to ?” Hyunsik interrupts again, “How many did you give hope to, only to shut them down when you felt like you couldn’t handle it anymore ?”

Kyungsoo knows he is drunk, and it’s most likely the alcohol talking, but he can’t help but feel cornered. Because despite all his wrongs, at that moment, Hyunsik is terrifyingly right. And it leaves him speechless when Jongin’s face pops up in his mind.

“Can’t you see how cruel and selfish you are ?” his ex continues in a sad voice as he takes a step, then another towards him, “Don’t you even care about other people’s feelings ? About _my_ feelings ?”

Kyungsoo remains entirely still, propped against the kitchen counter, as Hyunsik keeps walking until he stands right in front of him.

“You keep blowing hot and cold, being friendly, then pushing me away as you change your mind. But not once did you even try to think about how it made _me_ feel, did you ?”

One more step and Hyunsik is leaning in, his face close enough to Kyungsoo’s so he can be heard even if he talks in a low voice.

“What about the guy you were at the café with ? He isn’t here tonight to celebrate you coming back,” he says, and even though his posture is invading, there is no bite in his tone. Only pain. “Did you ditch him too after kissing him ?”

Kyungsoo barely has the time to wonder how Hyunsik even knows about the kiss, before a hot breath grazes his lips. The bitter smell of rum attacks his nose, and without thinking, his hands fly up, and he violently shoves Hyunsik away.

The guy stumbles back, visibly surprised, and his beer crashes on the tiled floor, splashing both their pants and shoes.

“What the fuck are you doing ?!” Kyungsoo spits.

Hyunsik gaze is penetrating as Kyungsoo glares at him. He doesn’t answer, however, and takes a step forward, only to be pushed away once again.

“Stop ! For fuck’s sake, Hyunsik !” Kyungsoo shouts, feeling his hands shaking in anger, “I don’t want to kiss you !”

“Why not ?”

Once more, all that exudes from his tone is dejection. But Kyungsoo doesn’t care. The exhaustion and amplifying headache seem to have wiped away the energy to pretend he’s fine and happy to be here.

“Just because ! You shouldn’t even need to ask for a reason !”

The music is booming outside of the door, but inside the kitchen, the silence feels suffocating.

“Why can’t you see how much I like you ?” Hyunsik eventually says, his voice cracking as his eyes start glistening under the artificial lights.

“You think forcing yourself on me is a good way to show that ?!” Kyungsoo snaps, teeth gritted, “Cause it’s not ! It just makes you a fucking asshole !”

Their eyes still locked, Hyunsik remains silent, and Kyungsoo watches his lips tremble and tighten in a thin line, tears pooling on his lower lashes.

“You spend so much energy to try and make me like you, and I just… It’s not gonna happen !” Kyungsoo continues, shaking his head, “You can call me selfish and cruel, I don’t care ! I am _not_ interested ! I don’t want to be with you ! And I know that _you_ know this, too !”

Still no reply.

“So why do you keep trying so hard ? If I hurt you _that_ much, why don’t you stop ? Why can’t you accept that it’s useless ?”

And it suddenly seems like those words have finally triggered something inside the man standing in front of him, because the next thing Kyungsoo knows, the tears start flowing down Hyunsik’s cheeks.

“Because through all the shit that life threw at me, dating you was one of the best things that have ever happened to me !!!” he explodes, his voice breaking at the end.

“But it wasn’t the same for me !!” Kyungsoo yells back, vaguely thankful that the music in the living room covers their screams from everyone there, “We may have worked out, for a little while. But then we didn’t anymore ! And we _still_ wouldn’t !!”

“But why ?!” Hyunsik asks in a sob, “Why can’t you love me too ?”

“There’s no reason ! We just don’t fit together, period ! And I don’t. Want. To be. With you,” Kyungsoo says, clearly detaching every word, “We don’t even work as _friends_ , Hyunsik !”

When he sees the crying man open his mouth, ready to reply, Kyungsoo lifts his hand in a stop motion.

“No. You let me talk,” he says, trying to regain some control, so he doesn’t end up shouting again.

Hyunsik sniffs and lets out a shaky breath.

“You say I haven’t changed, but you didn’t either. You made me feel guilty so many times for breaking up with you. You made me feel _horrible_ for hurting you, like you were doing just now. And I ended up thinking about it so much, that I didn’t even acknowledge how hurt _I_ was because of _you_.”

He makes sure to look at him straight in his teary eyes, because he can’t do this anymore. This whole thing has to end. And it will end tonight.

“It’s never only one’s fault when a relationship doesn’t work. It wasn’t just me, nor was it just you. We just don’t match. And you might think last time was ‘ _just a kiss_ ’, or that you sent ‘ _maybe too many texts_ ’, that you were ‘ _perhaps a little too insistent_ ’,” he continues, air quoting his words with his fingers, “But from my point of view ? It was a kiss I didn’t want. They were texts coming so often that I had to _change my number_.”

The tears keep cascading on Hyunsik’s face, but Kyungsoo still doesn’t stop.

“You were not just a little too insistent. You made me have to run away and hide. The sound of your voice ended up automatically prompting that response from my brain. Do you think it’s normal, Hyunsik ?” he asks, not expecting, nor waiting for an answer before he continues, “That I felt the need, not only to avoid you but to fucking _escape_ whenever you were around. Is this really the reaction you were aiming for ?”

“...Of course not…”

“Do you even understand how wrong it is ?”

“...But I don’t know how to make it right,” Hyunsik finally breaks, closing his eyes as his chest is rattled by silent sobs.

“I don’t want you to make it right !” Kyungsoo exclaims, before taking a deep breath and willing himself to calm down, “At least, not with me. I want you to make it right for _you_. Stop hiding and pretending. Stop trying to convince people you’re fine. You always did that,” he says in a softer tone, as old memories resurface.

Some that his mind had, most likely on purpose, forgotten, because he didn’t know how to help. The strained smiles, the forced laughs, the distant look in his eyes, sometimes. The tightening hold on Kyungsoo’s hand when they had to part, as if he was afraid to let go and be left alone with his thoughts. Hyunsik’s clinginess had never been the problem. But he was right. Kyungsoo had been selfish, refusing to be burdened by someone who had problems he didn’t know how to solve. He had been cruel and pushed him away when Hyunsik would’ve needed someone to stay.

“Even when we were together, you never truly opened up to me, but I could _see_ you were not okay,” he says, finally understanding the real reason behind that guilt he had felt all along.

Deep down, he had always known. He had just never been brave enough to admit his mistakes and blamed everything on Hyunsik, back then.

“And I’m sorry if I made things worse, I really am. But I couldn't have helped, anyway. What you need is professional help, Hyunsik.”

“But I’m not crazy…”

“I know you’re not,” Kyungsoo says, feeling his stomach clenching at the brokenhearted voice, “That’s not what I’m saying.

“If I get it… If I get help… Do you think we-”

“There’s no ‘ _we_ ’ in this, Hyunsik,” Kyungsoo sighs, eyes closing as he passes a hand through his hair before looking back at his ex-boyfriend who has stopped sobbing, despite the tears still running down, “Not anymore. I don’t think seeing me is doing you any good. And honestly, seeing you is not doing _me_ any good, either. So, no.”

Dropping his head, Hyunsik keeps silently crying, lifting a hand to wipe his face.

“Look, I don’t...hate you,” Kyungsoo hesitantly says, because it’s true, “It’s not a shame to ask for help. It’s not a weakness. We all need it at some point. I don’t want you to be unhappy. But I also don’t want anyone else going through the same I did,” he adds with a concerned frown, “Getting help is not something you should do for me. Or for anyone else. Do it for _you_. So you can be free of what’s holding you back from feeling better.”

A long minute pass, during which Hyunsik’s tears finally taper off. His head is still facing the ground, however, and Kyungsoo takes the opportunity to step forward. His arms wrap around Hyunsik’s body, and gently pats his back as the man’s head drops on his shoulder.

The whisper is so low, so filled with sadness, that he barely hears it through the music still raging in the living room.

“I’m sorry… For everything...”

“I know,” he breathes, tightening his hold for a few seconds, “I’m sorry too. I really hope you’ll be okay, one day.”

When he finally lets go and take a step back, Hyunsik lifts his glazed, swollen eyes towards him and silently offers him a smile. It’s small, and tinted with sadness, but there is a shadow of gratitude in his eyes. And when Kyungsoo smiles back before exiting the room, he feels like maybe, this time, things will go well for Hyunsik.

But as if Karma had decided to take the day off, the next person he comes face to face with proves him any good action he might have just done won’t be rewarded.

Towering him with all his offending height, Sehun looks ready to punch him at any seconds, if he so much as blink too quickly.

“H- hey,” Kyungsoo tentatively says, remembering the text the younger sent him last Tuesday, “What’s going on ?” he adds when he doesn’t get greeted back.

“I should be the one asking that,” Sehun retorts, his jaw tense.

“What ? Why ?” Kyungsoo asks, confused.

“What the hell _happened_ with Jongin ?”

“I… What ?”

“Don’t play dumb, hyung. He called me last Sunday night. He sounded fucking pissed and asked me to go out with him out of nowhere.”

_Last Sunday… Fuck_.

“He got hella drunk and kept mumbling your name. So I’m asking you again. What. Happened ?”

For the second time in one night, Kyungsoo feels cornered, and he stumbles on his words when he tries to speak, seeing the obvious anger in Sehun’s eyes.

“Uhm...I- I texted him by accident,” he says, feeling a weird weight form on the bottom of his stomach, “I thought I was sending the messages to Baekhyun, but I realized I messed up and-”

“Messed up ? Yeah, you clearly did !” Sehun spits, looking more and more furious and starting to grab attention from the people all around in the living room, “What did you tell him ?”

“It was a misunderstanding,” Kyungsoo answers, eyeing Baekhyun who started approaching them with a worried frown, “But I cleared it out ! I even texted him a couple days ago, to tell him.”

For a second, Sehun looks taken aback, before a new fire sparks in his eyes.

“You didn’t clear shit,” he snaps, “Seeing how he refuse to answer my calls, _coincidentally_ since yesterday.”

“Wait, what ?”

“Is something wrong ?” Baekhyun inquires in a cautious voice, finally stepping right next to Kyungsoo.

Wrong move, apparently. Friendship seemingly forgotten, Sehun throws him an equally intense glare and addresses him with just as much impatience.

“Maybe _you_ can tell me !”

“Tell you what ?”

“What Kyungsoo said to Jongin for him to go and pick a random girl in a club and fucking sleep with her !”

Despite the loud music, the words ring in Kyungsoo’s ears.

All things considered, he would’ve preferred if Sehun had punched him in the guts. And with the way all the air gets expelled from his lungs, it feels an awful lot like he did.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 20, aka next time you’ll think twice before asking for flawless characters who are always nice and never make mistakes :P.  
> Just so you know, the very last part wasn’t supposed to happen. But this is what blaming everything on Kyungsoo brought you \o/ ! You can thank each other in the comments xD !
> 
> Until next time, have wonderful winter holidays~ !
> 
> ~Pixie~
> 
> (You can also find me on Twitter/CuriousCat/AFF at @Minty_Pixie)


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